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June 2007

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Stuart Ewen <[log in to unmask]>
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Fri, 1 Jun 2007 13:58:20 -0400
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Gates, US General Back Long Iraq Stay
     By Ann Scott Tyson
     The Washington Post

     Friday 01 June 2007

     US presence said to reassure allies.

     Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and a senior U.S. commander  
said yesterday that they favor a protracted U.S. troop presence in  
Iraq along the lines of the military stabilization force in South Korea.

     Gates told reporters in Hawaii that he is thinking of "a mutual  
agreement" with Iraq in which "some force of Americans . . . is  
present for a protracted period of time, but in ways that are  
protective of the sovereignty of the host government." Gates said  
such a long-term U.S. presence would assure allies in the Middle East  
that the United States will not withdraw from Iraq as it did from  
Vietnam, "lock, stock and barrel."

     Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, who oversees daily military  
operations in Iraq, supported the idea at a news conference in which  
he also said U.S. military units are trying to reach cease-fire  
agreements with Iraqi insurgents.

     Odierno said he sees benefits in maintaining a South Korean- 
style force in Iraq for years. "I think it's a great idea," he said,  
adding that the Iraqi and U.S. governments would have to make that  
decision.

     "That would be nothing but helping the Iraqi security forces and  
the government to continue to stabilize itself, and continue to set  
itself up for success for years to come, if we were able to do that,"  
Odierno told Pentagon reporters in a videoconference from Baghdad.

     The comments represented the second time this week that  
administration officials invoked the American experience in South  
Korea in citing the need for a long-range U.S. military presence in  
Iraq. Concerns that U.S. forces might stay for a lengthy period have  
provoked considerable controversy in the region.

     Yesterday's statements echoed those by White House press  
secretary Tony Snow on Wednesday. Snow had sparked quick criticism  
from Democratic lawmakers and liberal activist groups when he said  
that President Bush envisions a troop posture in Iraq similar to that  
in South Korea.

     Iraqi forces, Snow said, would provide the bulk of security, but  
U.S. troops would be deployed in an "over-the-horizon support role so  
that if you need the ability to react quickly to major challenges or  
crises, you can be there." He said that "what you're really dealing  
with is the internal security of Iraq, rather than trying to provide  
a reassurance against an external foe."

     Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) responded by  
accusing Bush of "equating U.S. troop involvement in the endless  
Iraqi civil war to the post-Korean War security model, telling  
Americans that he may keep our troops mired in Iraq for as long as  
half a century."

     Snow had said, however, that he was not suggesting a 50-year  
deployment and characterized the potential duration as "unanswerable."

     Odierno cited some progress in Iraq and said U.S. forces are  
negotiating cease-fires with local Sunni and Shiite insurgent groups  
that it considers "reconcilable" in an effort to reduce violence.

     Odierno said he recently gave military commanders authority to  
strike such agreements with insurgent groups that have staged attacks  
against U.S. and Iraqi forces. He said that he thinks 80 percent of  
the fighters - including Sunni insurgents, Shiite militia such as the  
Mahdi Army, and possibly a small number of al-Qaeda in Iraq members -  
are "reconcilable," meaning they could be persuaded to lay down their  
weapons.

     "There are insurgents reaching out to us . . . so we want to  
reach back to them," Odierno said. "We're talking about cease-fires  
and maybe signing some things that say they won't conduct operations  
against the government of Iraq or against coalition forces."

     The overtures to insurgent groups, tribes and religious leaders  
are part of a push by the U.S. military to generate political  
accommodation at local and eventually national levels, Odierno said.

     Odierno also cited progress resulting from the buildup of 28,500  
U.S. troops in Iraq, but he appealed for patience and said he may  
need time beyond September to determine whether the "surge" ordered  
by Bush in January is working. "The assessment might be . . . 'I need  
a little more time,' " he said.

     The troop increase will be completed in mid-June, with 8,000  
more U.S. combat personnel moving into position in Baghdad and its  
outskirts and in Anbar province over the next two weeks. Odierno said  
it will take until at least August for those forces to be "immersed  
into the local populace" and be able to improve security.

     Odierno said the extra troops have produced "some very clear  
progress." He cited military data showing that since January,  
operations in Iraq have detained nearly 18,000 people, discovered  
about 2,500 weapons caches, killed more than 3,184 enemy fighters and  
wounded 1,016. In Baghdad, where about 50,000 U.S. combat troops and  
79,000 Iraqi security forces are operating, civilian deaths -  
including those from sectarian violence - are lower than in January,  
although they increased in May over the previous two months, he said.  
Operations have added security barriers to 11 Baghdad markets and  
helped generate 32,000 jobs, and have spent more than $35 million on  
reconstruction and humanitarian projects, he said.

     Still, Odierno said that he expects hard fighting ahead. In  
coming weeks, he said, the focus of U.S. military operations will be  
on insurgent sanctuaries in the outskirts of Baghdad, especially to  
the south and east in Diyala province.

     -----------

     Staff writer Michael Abramowitz contributed to this report. 

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