Seoulstriker
11-05-2003, 02:34 PM
Subject: Raids Net Iraqi Generals in Fallujah
To: DEFENSE-PRESS-SERVICE-L@DTIC.MIL
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2003 * U.S. service members captured two Iraqi generals
suspected of being the money behind terrorist activities in Fallujah, Combined Joint Task Force 7 [http://www.vcorps.army.mil/www/CJTF7/]
officials said today.
Troopers from the
1st Battalion [http://www.bragg.army.mil/afvc-c/1-505/1505pir.htm], 505th
Parachute Infantry [http://www.bragg.army.mil/AFVC-C/panthers.htm], conducted the raids. Coalition officials said there
were a number of raids across the country. DoD officials said the raids are
part of regular, ongoing operations to secure and stabilize Iraq.
"We conduct these raids whenever we have actionable intelligence," said a DoD
official. "We treat all tips as serious."
Officials said another 82nd
Airborne Division [http://www.bragg.army.mil/www-82DV/] unit * the 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry, attached to the
airborne outfit * found a large cache of ammunition including mortar rounds,
rocket-propelled grenades and .50-caliber machine gun ammo.
The raids strike at the center of anti-coalition efforts in the country.
Fallujah is the site of the toughest resistance to the U.S. occupation. The
city is in the midst of the so-called Baathist Triangle bounded by Baghdad, Ar
Ramadi and Tikrit.
Saddam Hussein made the region his bedrock area of support. According to Judith
Yaphe, the people of the region benefited by Saddam's rule and are now
attacking the coalition, not so much because they miss Saddam, but because they
fear the future.
"They are afraid they will be reduced to the kind of poverty that Saddam
imposed on the Shia and the Kurds," she said during a recent interview. Yaphe
is senior fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the
National Defense University here.
The area is primarily Sunni Arab and was the center of Arab nationalist
sentiment. Saddam Hussein is from the region and is part of the tribal system
at its base.
That tribal loyalty complicates the situation for coalition forces in the
region, Yaphe said. Saddam showered money on the tribes of the region. They
were rewarded for their loyalty to the regime. The leaders of the Iraqi army,
the Republican Guards, the intelligence services and other regime power centers
came from the tribes of the region.
"It all comes down to who do you trust," Yaphe said. "Still the interesting
aspect is that most of the attempted coups against Saddam came from the area
also."
The Sunni Arabs in the region ruled Iraq under the Ottoman Empire and through
the British mandate. They remained on top during Saddam's regime. Now they are
not, and they fear what will happen to them, Yaphe said.
"There's a semblance of 'noblesse oblige' in the area -- a feeling of
'exceptionalism,' and the idea that 'we're special, we're the best,'" she
pointed out.
Yaphe said a certain number of people in the region are driven by loyalty to
Saddam, but most of the actions against the coalition are simple resentment
against the United States. "They blame the United States for them being
dethroned," she said. "The U.S. is blamed for their suffering."
The demobilization of the Iraqi military and "de-Baathification" efforts hit
the region particularly hard. Many of the people are out of work and some have
chosen to resist the U.S. occupation.
"Others maybe won't fight, but they will not turn in those who are launching
the attacks," Yaphe said. "They could be members of your family or of your
tribe."
With Saddam's regional roots region and tribal system encouragement, people
will not easily turn over information to the Americans, she said. Those who do
would be termed collaborators and would most likely be killed.
She said the American strategy is to keep hunting for these terrorists and to
be prepared for a long effort. "Hearts and minds are something we're not going
to win over quickly," Yaphe said.
Progress in the region will depend on how well the United States and its
coalition allies can provide security. Before economic and political change can
happen, the people of the region must feel safe, she pointed out. It is also
very important that Saddam Hussein is killed or captured.
"To Iraqis, Saddam alive represents the idea that regime can return," Yaphe
said. "It's not very realistic, but that's the way they feel. Remember, for 70
percent of Iraqis, Saddam was their only ruler."
woot woot
To: DEFENSE-PRESS-SERVICE-L@DTIC.MIL
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2003 * U.S. service members captured two Iraqi generals
suspected of being the money behind terrorist activities in Fallujah, Combined Joint Task Force 7 [http://www.vcorps.army.mil/www/CJTF7/]
officials said today.
Troopers from the
1st Battalion [http://www.bragg.army.mil/afvc-c/1-505/1505pir.htm], 505th
Parachute Infantry [http://www.bragg.army.mil/AFVC-C/panthers.htm], conducted the raids. Coalition officials said there
were a number of raids across the country. DoD officials said the raids are
part of regular, ongoing operations to secure and stabilize Iraq.
"We conduct these raids whenever we have actionable intelligence," said a DoD
official. "We treat all tips as serious."
Officials said another 82nd
Airborne Division [http://www.bragg.army.mil/www-82DV/] unit * the 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry, attached to the
airborne outfit * found a large cache of ammunition including mortar rounds,
rocket-propelled grenades and .50-caliber machine gun ammo.
The raids strike at the center of anti-coalition efforts in the country.
Fallujah is the site of the toughest resistance to the U.S. occupation. The
city is in the midst of the so-called Baathist Triangle bounded by Baghdad, Ar
Ramadi and Tikrit.
Saddam Hussein made the region his bedrock area of support. According to Judith
Yaphe, the people of the region benefited by Saddam's rule and are now
attacking the coalition, not so much because they miss Saddam, but because they
fear the future.
"They are afraid they will be reduced to the kind of poverty that Saddam
imposed on the Shia and the Kurds," she said during a recent interview. Yaphe
is senior fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the
National Defense University here.
The area is primarily Sunni Arab and was the center of Arab nationalist
sentiment. Saddam Hussein is from the region and is part of the tribal system
at its base.
That tribal loyalty complicates the situation for coalition forces in the
region, Yaphe said. Saddam showered money on the tribes of the region. They
were rewarded for their loyalty to the regime. The leaders of the Iraqi army,
the Republican Guards, the intelligence services and other regime power centers
came from the tribes of the region.
"It all comes down to who do you trust," Yaphe said. "Still the interesting
aspect is that most of the attempted coups against Saddam came from the area
also."
The Sunni Arabs in the region ruled Iraq under the Ottoman Empire and through
the British mandate. They remained on top during Saddam's regime. Now they are
not, and they fear what will happen to them, Yaphe said.
"There's a semblance of 'noblesse oblige' in the area -- a feeling of
'exceptionalism,' and the idea that 'we're special, we're the best,'" she
pointed out.
Yaphe said a certain number of people in the region are driven by loyalty to
Saddam, but most of the actions against the coalition are simple resentment
against the United States. "They blame the United States for them being
dethroned," she said. "The U.S. is blamed for their suffering."
The demobilization of the Iraqi military and "de-Baathification" efforts hit
the region particularly hard. Many of the people are out of work and some have
chosen to resist the U.S. occupation.
"Others maybe won't fight, but they will not turn in those who are launching
the attacks," Yaphe said. "They could be members of your family or of your
tribe."
With Saddam's regional roots region and tribal system encouragement, people
will not easily turn over information to the Americans, she said. Those who do
would be termed collaborators and would most likely be killed.
She said the American strategy is to keep hunting for these terrorists and to
be prepared for a long effort. "Hearts and minds are something we're not going
to win over quickly," Yaphe said.
Progress in the region will depend on how well the United States and its
coalition allies can provide security. Before economic and political change can
happen, the people of the region must feel safe, she pointed out. It is also
very important that Saddam Hussein is killed or captured.
"To Iraqis, Saddam alive represents the idea that regime can return," Yaphe
said. "It's not very realistic, but that's the way they feel. Remember, for 70
percent of Iraqis, Saddam was their only ruler."
woot woot