New US general says Iraq strategy must succeed
Source: Reuters
(Adds fresh comments, U.S. soldiers killed) By Dean Yates BAGHDAD, Feb 10 (Reuters) - The new U.S. military commander in Iraq said on Saturday that American and Iraqi security forces had to stabilise the country in what he called a high-stakes battle, or it would be doomed to more violence. General David Petraeus, taking command just days after a new crackdown against militants in Baghdad began, said the situation in Iraq was "exceedingly challenging" but not "hopeless". "We will all have to share the burdens and move forward together. If we can do that, and if we can help the people of Iraq do likewise, then the prospects for success are good," Petraeus said during a ceremony at one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces near Baghdad airport, now a U.S. military base. "Failing that, Iraq will be doomed to continuing violence and civil strife and surely that is a prospect all must strive to avoid ... The stakes are very high." Petraeus takes charges at a critical time, having been appointed to oversee President George W. Bush's new strategy in Iraq, which focuses on halting the daily carnage of suicide bombings and death squad killings on Baghdad's streets. Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi forces have launched the Baghdad crackdown, seen as the last chance to halt a slide towards all- out civil war between majority Shi'ites and minority Sunni Arabs. The capital is the epicentre of the violence. Petraeus was speaking after formally taking command of 130,000 U.S. troops from General George Casey, who was confirmed by the Senate this week as the next U.S. Army chief of staff. "Our job in the months ahead, supporting and working with Iraqi security forces, will be to improve security so the Iraqi government can resolve the tough issues it faces," said Petraeus, a counter-insurgency expert. "These tasks are achievable. The mission is doable." Bush has promised to send 21,500 more troops, mostly to Baghdad, to help the Shi'ite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Both Bush and Maliki are under growing pressure from war- weary constituents to halt Iraq's descent into chaos. Since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 to topple Saddam, more than 3,100 American soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed. A suicide car bombing in central Baghdad offered a reminder of the task ahead. A man driving a car rigged with explosives blew up near a line of people waiting to buy bread from a bakery in central Baghdad, killing five and wounding 10, police said. In Diyala province near Baghdad, three U.S. soldiers were killed and four others wounded in an explosion while they were searching a building for weapons on Friday, the military said. FEARS Casey said America had "laid the foundations for Iraq's ultimate success", but he voiced doubts about the ability of its warring communities to be reconciled with each other. "My greatest fear is that Iraqis can't put the past behind them. We liberated them from 35 years of tyranny. We can't liberate them from the fears and prejudices that grew up in those 35 years," he told reporters before the ceremony. "They have to do that themselves." Bush has said the new military push must be accompanied by political progress, calling on Maliki's government to meet certain benchmarks, including passing a law on how oil revenues are shared and amending the constitution, a key Sunni demand. The offensive is expected to build up gradually over the coming weeks. U.S. commanders have called for patience, saying it will be several months before it delivers results. "We're just in the opening days," Lieutenant-General Douglas Lute, director of operations at the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Friday, adding that "fully-fledged" clearing operations in Baghdad neighbourhoods had not yet started. Petraeus is seen across the U.S. political spectrum as the man best qualified to try to reverse American fortunes in Iraq. He led the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion and won plaudits for working closely with local leaders to stabilise the northern city of Mosul, getting involved in everything from privatisation to local elections. Petraeus also oversaw a new U.S. military manual on fighting insurgencies that stresses understanding politics, ethics and local culture.
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