Sectarian Violence Diminishing in Iraq, General Says By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA - American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 17, 2006 – The sectarian violence that surged after the Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite mosque in Samarra, Iraq, has tapered off, and Iraqis are optimistic about the future, a top U.S. commander in Iraq said today.
Violence is now at a lower level than it was before the mosque bombing, and the attacks are of the same type they were then, Army Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, commander of Multinational Corps Iraq, said during a video news conference from Iraq.
"I don't want to downplay the tragedy of the violence that has occurred; however, it may be unfair to characterize every post-Feb. 22 event sectarian in nature," Chiarelli said. "Some of those events are sectarian, but far fewer than are being reported. Most of the events are a combination of the work of al Qaeda in Iraq, insurgent attacks designed to prevent progress in building the government, and pure, unadulterated crime."
Chiarelli stressed that civil war is still far away for Iraq, as most of the people there do not see the sectarian divisions that are being stressed by the media. "Many Iraqis are part of mixed marriages and live in mixed neighborhoods and consider themselves Iraqis first," he said.
The Iraqi security forces' response to the recent sectarian violence is just another indicator of their continued progress, Chiarelli said. The Iraqi army is increasingly taking the lead in operations and taking responsibility for battle space, he said. In current operations, such as Operation Swarmer, Iraqi forces take on the majority of the responsibility, with U.S. and coalition forces in supporting roles, he said.
"We're finding Iraqi units, with our support, can be used in just about any operation we do in a counterinsurgency role," he said. "This is a force we have built and the Iraqis have built for that counterinsurgency fight, and I think they're particularly well-prepared, well-trained, and have the ability to do that in just about any area."
The goal is for Iraqis to control about 75 percent of the battle space by the end of summer, Chiarelli said, and all indications are that they will meet that goal. "We're doing a very, very good job, and the Iraqis are doing a great job moving forward," he said.
U.S. and coalition forces will spend extra time this year training the Iraqi police, Chiarelli said. Police training teams, unit partnerships and mentoring will be used to help develop the capability of the police force, which will eventually take responsibility for urban areas, he said.
The U.S. is working with the Iraqi government to build ministerial capacity so the government can provide essential services for all Iraqis, Chiarelli said. Provincial reconstruction teams will work with provincial governments in developing economic systems and building infrastructure so Iraqis can have clean water, electricity, fuel, proper sewage systems and trash removal, he said.
Iraqi citizens remain confident about the future and the progress their country is making, Chiarelli said. The seating of the Council of Representatives yesterday was a big step toward a national unity government, which the citizens are looking forward to, he said.
"I remain convinced that the resiliency and optimism of the Iraqi people will keep Iraq moving in the right direction," he said.
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Multinational Corps Iraq
1-94 now the last multiple-rocket launchers in Europe
Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 94th Field Artillery Regiment simultaneously fired 17 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems at Grafenwöhr, Germany, on Thursday. (Seth Robson / S&S)
By Seth Robson - Stars and Stripes European edition
Friday, March 17, 2006
GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — Inactivation and transformation of two Multiple Launch Rocket System battalions will leave the 1st Battalion, 94th Field Artillery Regiment as the last MLRS unit in Europe.
By July, 1st Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment will inactivate, while 1st Battalion, 33rd Field Artillery Regiment will trade its MLRS for 105 mm artillery pieces and join the 173rd Airborne Brigade at Vicenza, Italy, according to Lt. Col. Patrick Hogan, the 1-94 commander.
The Baumholder-based 1-94 will eventually swap its tracked MLRS’s for wheeled high-mobility artillery rocket systems in order to support the 2nd Cavalry (Stryker) Brigade, which is scheduled to arrive at Vilseck this summer, he said.
Being the only MLRS unit left in Europe has its advantages. The 1st Armored Division unit was allocated more than 300 rockets, enough for all three battalions, for a gunnery session at Grafenwöhr this week, Hogan said.
With so many rockets, the battalion was able to do something it had not done since it was formed in 2000 — fire all 18 of its MLRS’s at the same time.
When the rockets fired from 17 of the launchers on Thursday (one was down with a technical glitch), it was like the Fourth of July in broad daylight as glowing rockets sent clouds of smoke trails across a snow-covered landscape.
The rockets, which have an unclassified range of more than 20 miles, disperse hundreds of bomblets over a wide area to destroy targets such as infantry, command posts and logistics sites, Hogan said.
Battery A unit commander Staff Sgt. Reuben Newton, 25, of Decatur, Ala., said it was a big challenge to get all of the MLRS’s firing together.
“There are a lot of safety checks to go through,” he said, standing in front of his MLRS, which he calls “Alabama.”
Alabama’s driver, Spc. Jose Salazar, 24, of Espanola, N.M., said it was tough moving the MLRS about in the snow at Grafenwöhr. The soldiers estimated 18 inches of snow fell while 1-94 was on the range.
Gunner, Spc. Thomas Morris, 23, of Abingdon, Md., who wants to call Alabama “Anger Management,” said he preferred shooting rockets to taking on an infantry role, which is what the unit did when it deployed to Baghdad, from November 2003 to July 2004.
“We did raids, cordon and searches, IED (improvised explosive device) sweeps and route patrols. Everything except our real job. We brought the MLRS units with us but sent them back early. I’d rather shoot rockets. It’s an adrenaline rush,” he said.