Posted on 07/14/2006 2:02:45 PM PDT by WmShirerAdmirer
Iraq took full control of a province from foreign troops for the first time since the 2003 US-led invasion on Thursday, but clashes in Baghdad underlined the security challenges facing the new government. Addressing a ceremony to mark the handover of southern Muthanna province from British-led troops to Iraqis, Iraq's prime minister warned that insurgents would try to stage attacks to mar a day "written with golden letters in Iraq's history."
"Terrorists who want to disrupt the handover of security and the success of the national unity government will not spare any effort to sabotage this step," Nuri al-Maliki said in the provincial capital, Samawah, 270 kilometers south of Baghdad.
Speaking during a colorful ceremony featuring dancing tribesmen and displays of martial prowess from local security forces, he said: "If this experience fails, this could lead to a big setback which could affect our efforts to control security."
Coalition forces will, however, remain in the province but will be pulled out of urban areas and largely assume a supporting and advisory role.
The transfer means that the governor will maintain security with provincial police forces and can call for help from the central government, which remains in command of army and national police forces located in the province.
Though relatively calm compared to other regions in central and western Iraq, the handover of largely desert Muthanna marks a symbolic step in Maliki's efforts to win more autonomy from foreign troops.
In a joint statement, US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and the senior US commander in Iraq, General George Casey, hailed it as a milestone in Iraq's capability to govern and protect itself as a "sovereign nation" and said handovers in other provinces will take place as conditions are achieved.
"With this first transition of security responsibility, Muthanna demonstrates the progress Iraq is making toward self-governance," the statement said, adding that "Multi-National Forces will stand ready to provide assistance if needed."
But at least 19 people were killed in attacks nationwide, illustrating the security challenge faced by this country.
Clashes erupted between gunmen and Iraqi police in Ghazaliyya, a Sunni neighborhood in western Baghdad which has seen fierce fighting between Sunni and Shiite fighters. Police said two people were wounded in clashes.
The Committee of Muslim Scholars, a leading Sunni religious group, said that "terrorist members of a sectarian militia" opened fire on their headquarters in the Umm al-Qura Mosque in the neighborhood before being chased away by the mosque's guards.
Shiite militias loyal to anti-occupation cleric Moqtada al-Sadr are strong in Samawah and residents have complained of collusion between police and the militias, who have been accused by critics of sectarian attacks.
Parliamentary Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a Sunni, told reporters after a closed session of Parliament on Thursday to discuss the security situation that politicians had been reminded of their own responsibilities to overcome divisions:
"Politicians' performance has not been appropriate to the security situation," he said, adding that the main Sunni bloc was now going to enter into a direct dialogue with the radical Shiite followers of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
"Politicians have been quarrelling, leading to sectarian tension," he said. "We, the representatives of the Iraqi people, should start with our own conduct and agree on a program and distance ourselves from one-sided language and one-sided views."
Britain's ambassador to Iraq, William Patey, acknowledged the province was not trouble-free but added: "That is not the standard we are setting. What country is trouble-free?
"The question is: 'Are the local security forces capable of dealing with it?'" said.
Britain, which has 7,000 troops in southern Iraq, has said the handover of security to Iraqi forces does not mean the withdrawal of its troops. Australia also has troops deployed in Samawah, while Japan is in the process of withdrawing.
Maliki is scheduled to meet US President George W. Bush on July 25. - Agencies
Sorry, forgot the sarcasm tag.
1 down, 17 to go.
Not only should they show the coffins but also show the terrorist beheading innocent americans and the pictures of he terrorists blowing themselves up among innocent women and children. Also show the towers being hit by the planes on 9-11 and the people jumping out of the burning WTC buildings. Show it all so it will put in context that our brave men aren't dying for a hapless cause as the demoncrats think we are.
LOL!
And we didn't even have to mobilize the Tech Warriors:
http://www.techwarrior.co.uk/?ac=vid&vid=37025743
We are winning!
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