FACTBOX-The U.S.-Iraqi Baghdad offensive
Source: Reuters
Feb 19 (Reuters) - Following are answers to questions about a new U.S.-Iraqi crackdown on violence in Baghdad. WHAT IS THE LATEST? Twin car bomb attacks at a Baghdad market on Sunday that killed 60 people underscored the challenge of stabilising the capital. The blasts came two days after Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had declared the offensive a "brilliant success". The campaign does, however, appear to have sharply reduced the number of killings by death squads in Baghdad, from 40-50 a day, to around five. Iraq reopened its borders with Iran and Syria over the weekend, but said they would not resume normal operations for weeks. The border checkpoints were closed for 72 hours last week to tighten controls to prevent weapons and foreign fighters from entering. Security forces plan to block off major markets in Baghdad to vehicles to try to prevent car bombs. WHAT IS THE OBJECTIVE? The idea is to protect the population, pump money into the economy and get government services functioning. U.S. officers say the security operation will take months to peak, but add that they hope to see concrete results around June-July. An emphasis is being placed on retaining control of districts once they have been cleared of militants. There are around 75,000 Iraqi army and police forces and 35,000 American soldiers in Baghdad for the crackdown. More U.S. reinforcements are on the way, but all will not be in place until the end of May. WHAT IS AT STAKE? With Baghdad the epicentre of violence between the dominant Shi'ite and minority Sunni Arabs, the campaign is seen as a last-ditch effort to prevent Iraq pitching into all-out civil war. Should the plan fail, political sources believe Maliki's government could collapse. U.S. President George W. Bush would find himself under even more pressure to start to withdraw American soldiers. WHAT IS DIFFERENT THIS TIME? While there is deep scepticism among ordinary Iraqis that the crackdown will ultimately work, some say they are prepared to put up with extra checkpoints and other measures if this curtails violence. In a change from previous, failed offensives, U.S. soldiers are embedding with Iraqi units across Baghdad in what are called joint security stations. Iraqi commanders have talked about setting up 28 of these stations. Around 10 are already operational. Iraqi soldiers will also be given extra pay to take part in the offensive and finite deployment orders so their missions are not open-ended. WHAT ARE THE HURDLES? Among the many problems will be getting enough soldiers on the ground to pacify a city of 6 million people. A previous attempt to clear militants failed last summer partly because U.S. commanders said there were not enough Iraqi troops to hold gains and because Shi'ite politicians stopped them arresting or killing leading Shi'ite militants. Ensuring Iraqi security forces are committed to a long campaign could prove a challenge. Long-term, some analysts expect many militants to lay low or leave Baghdad until the campaign winds down, and then move back into the capital or step up attacks elsewhere.
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