MNF-I: Violence in Iraq not civil war

ARNEWS ^

[SandRat]

BAGHDAD (Army News Service, Feb. 27, 2006) -- “There have been pockets of violence, but we don't see that as a precursor to civil war,” said Multi-National Force-Iraq Spokesman Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch Feb. 25 in Baghdad

Lynch said this during a press conference Saturday aimed at correcting erroneous reports.

Lynch addressed the number of attacks since the bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra. He particularly called attention the numbers of attacks, comparing rumors and media reports presenting inflated numbers, to those numbers gathered by Iraqi and coalition assets.

Lynch said reports coming out of the National Joint Operations Center over the past three days reflected 51 mosque attacks, with 23 having significant damage. Through use of troop observations and Unmanned Arial Vehicles, MNF-I and ISF looked at those mosques to verify the reports. The results showed only 22 mosques had been attacked, with six sustaining significant damage.

“There were reports of 23 mosques having significant damage, and that's not what we've seen.”

Iraq religious and political leaders‘ call for calm and strong leadership by the Iraqi Prime Minister have been key in keeping Iraqis focused on a peaceful path.

Lynch said the Samarra attack was perpetrated by terrorists who were “continuing to try to derail the Democratic process and discredit the Iraqi government.”

Over the last three days, despite constant hand wringing by the international media, Iraq has not experienced civil war. “We believe that there has not been widespread sectarian violence because of the capable Iraqi government, because of calls by religious and political leaders for calm and because of the capable Iraqi security force and coalition forces conducting security missions across Iraq .”

“Let me be clear: there have been pockets of violence but we don't see that as a precursor to civil war”.

Lynch conceded an increase in the number of civilian murders since as a result of the bombing of Samara, but stressed even here the reports had been inflated.

“There were reports of over 200 murders. We can confirm 119. Clearly that is an increase in numbers of murders.

Another terrorist tactic is to inflame reports. They rely on the tendency to inflate the number of attacks and exaggerate their damage, and these exaggerations in turn get picked up by the media and are disseminated to the Iraqi people, who then believe the violence is more widespread than it really is.

“We've seen 45 demonstrations across Iraq, 32 inside of Baghdad . Of those 32 demonstrations inside of Baghdad only one was violent. The other 31 were peaceful.”

Lynch also praised a capable Iraqi government and the Iraqi prime minister for his strong leadership.

The Iraqi Army became a little more capable with the recent graduation of 83 new Jundis (privates) who have now joined the 9 th Iraqi Army Division following a ceremony at the Taji Training Center.

“I order you, brave sons of the great Iraq , to strike with an iron fist anyone who would disturb the security of your country,” said Iraqi Capt. Hamed Baker, the assistant commander of the Taji Training Center . “You are to be the shield against terrorists. Congratulations for this. Your honor will be mentioned in your history for many years to come.”

“Almost all of the training was conducted by the Iraqi Army instructors,” explained Staff Sgt. Michael Munoz, the operations sergeant for the basic training academy. “Soon the academy will be turned over completely to the Iraqi Army.

Acting on a tip from an Iraqi citizen, a team from Multi-National Division– Baghdad's 53rd Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company stopped a potential threat Feb. 24 by finding and disposing of an MK-84 bomb near a mosque south of Al Hillah.

Due to the bomb's location near the religious shrine, the team had no other choice than to burn the bomb in place as a last resort, which it was able to do without any damage to the mosque, Iraqi citizens or MND – B Soldiers.

(Editor’s note: Information provided by Multi-National Force-Iraq.)

[Reaganesque]

Lynch said this during a press conference Saturday aimed at correcting erroneous reports.

Erroneous my eye. It's wishful thinking on the part of the MSM and the Democrats. In their view, the more Iraqis and US troops die, the better the Democrats prospects in 2006.

[SandRat]

Erroneous my eye. It's wishful thinking on the part of the MSM and the Democrats. In their view, the more Iraqis and US troops die, the better the Democrats prospects in 2006.

Here's the correct election pin for that party