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Posted on 05/03/2004 4:19:40 PM PDT by Anti-Bubba182
BAGHDAD (AFP) - The new Iraqi military formed to end weeks of violence in the flashpoint Sunni city of Fallujah faces being broken up once the US siege is over, a senior military officer said.
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"It's a temporary force brought in to deal with the Fallujah situation," the officer said on condition of anonymity, referring to the so-called "Fallujah Brigade".
"I think it will be dissolved" when the mission is accomplished of stabilising the city and ridding it of lawlessness, he said.
"I suppose upon dissolution, if these people wanted ... to join the Iraqi security forces, they could."
Scores of US troops and hundreds of Iraqis were killed during weeks of violence in April after marines launched an offensive following the deaths of four foreign contractors, two of whom were mutilated.
With an uneasy ceasefire in place, US military leaders had warned insurgents they had only days to hand over their heavy weapons before a new military campaign.
But amid international condemnation, the US changed tactics and pushed hard for a political settlement as former Iraqi generals came forward to offer a way to keep the peace.
The "Fallujah Brigade" will be headed by General Mohammed Latif with General Jassem Mohammed Salah as head of the first battalion, according to two high-ranking US officers in Baghdad.
However Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Richard Myers later said the men had not been fully vetted and denied that command positions had been given to either general.
"They have not been vetted," Myers said of Latif and Salah. "They have not been placed in command. They are not in charge."
Salah was given a hero's welcome when he arrived in Fallujah on Friday.
The senior military officer in Baghdad denied any rift between the Pentagon (news - web sites) and marines on the ground over the creation of the force.
"I don't think there is any gap," he said. Consultations about the new force went to the upper echelons of the US command in Iraq (news - web sites) but not as far as the Pentagon, he said.
Interim Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, a member of the US-appointed Governing Council, criticised the plan to hand over any security responsibilities in the city to Salah, a former general in ousted dictator Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s army.
He said Salah was "involved in the suppression of the 1991 uprising," referring to the failed Shiite revolt against Saddam at the tail end of the 1991 Gulf War (news - web sites) that saw thousands killed by the old regime's elite Republican Guard.
"The council has no objections to the nomination of General Mohammed Latif to the head of the brigade who served several years in jail under Saddam," Zebari added.
Latif never served in the Republican Guard and was said to have spent seven years in jail under Saddam.
U.S. in Falluja Turns to General Who Defied Saddam
"..However, Saleh said there were no foreign fighters there. U.S. officials initially challenged that view. But the senior official said on Monday that Saleh may indeed have a point.
"Some probably have been killed, some probably have gotten out of the city. It may be more than some," he told reporters.
A senior general said last week that the contractors' killers had also probably fled Falluja, leaving the main target of the new force the elimination of remaining insurgents. .."
It looks like they have appointed a more politically acceptable commander, but have edged back from expecting the removal of foreign terrorists and the turn over of the killers of the contractors.
All that remains is the turn over of heavy weapons.
Nothing that has been reported makes me believe they are going to turn in those heavy weapons.
So much for all this crap that this was being directed "by Bush."
I don't think so either. They probably think that they have done as much as they should - in turning in the unusable scrap.
Actually, with Iraq as it is at the moment, the fighting in the streets, the instability, the threats, the appearance and disappearances of various leaders - if you were there, and had a heavy weapon, wouldn't you want to keep it?
If they turn in a token amount of weapons it will be claimed this was done to allow the US to save face.
"NEW YORK -- CBS News delayed reporting for two weeks about U.S. soldiers' alleged abuse of Iraqi prisoners, following a personal request from the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.
Gen. Richard B. Myers called CBS anchor Dan Rather eight days before the report was to air, asking for extra time, said Jeff Fager, executive producer of "60 Minutes II."
Myers cited the safety of American hostages and tension surrounding the Iraqi city of Fallujah, Fager said, adding that he held off as long as he believed possible given it was a competitive story. .."
The CBS 60 Minutes II broke the story 4-29-04.
Abuse Of Iraqi POWs By GIs Probed
The stream of Falluja stories for that day dealt with the ending of the seige. Gen. Myers' mention of Fallujah and subsequent events make me wonder if this was related.
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