NcDeuce
02-25-2004, 02:34 PM
101st may go back to Iraq
Petraeus says some troops might return to Gulf next year
By CHANTAL ESCOTO
The Leaf-Chronicle
With most soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division back from the Middle East, their commanding general said he expects at least a portion to return in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom next year.
"That obviously depends on the needs in Iraq and the forces available, but I would think the 101st would be involved in Iraq again," said Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus during a media briefing at Fort Campbell Tuesday. The 101st has just finished the first phase of Iraqi Freedom; the second phase is now underway, and more involvement by the 101st would be phase three.
Looking back on the successes of combat and humanitarian missions in a country basically stripped of its infrastructure by the previous regime, Petraeus based his nation-building ideology on what Mayor Rudolph Guiliani did in New York City after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
"His view was if you fix the broken window it prevents it from becoming a crack house, which prevents it from being a (house of crime), which prevents it from spreading through the neighborhood," said Petraeus, a New Yorker.
Nearly $58 million was filtered through the 101st for more than 5,000 projects in Iraq. Most of the money was from the seized assets of Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party.
Petraeus said by meeting with tribal leaders immediately after the 101st arrived in Mosul on April 22, the wheels were in motion for an Iraqi democracy. Less than a month later, the Ninevah province had water, electricity and schools, and the unemployed population was working again.
"It was a race to get the Iraqi people feeling they had a stake in Iraqi successes," said Petraeus, who added that his personal greatest accomplishment was to "liberate the people from a truly horrible regime."
Brig. Gen. Frank G. Helmick, assistant division commander of operations, gave a two-hour briefing before a question-and-answer session with Petraeus.
One of the missions he discussed was the July 22 raid on the house in Mosul where Uday and Qusay Hussein were killed. Helmick commented on criticism of the attack -- that soldiers used excessive force, resulting in the deaths of Saddam Hussein's sons.
"We didn't want it to be fair. We didn't want it to be close," he said, adding that four soldiers were fired upon and wounded when they first went to the home. With varied and numerous amounts of firepower including anti-tank weapons and 50-caliber guns, Helmick said the raid was considered a success since no troops were killed and $1 million of U.S. currency was confiscated.
"I would much rather tell a wife that we used the appropriate amount of force, than for a soldier (to die) because we didn't have enough firepower," he said.
Petraeus says some troops might return to Gulf next year
By CHANTAL ESCOTO
The Leaf-Chronicle
With most soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division back from the Middle East, their commanding general said he expects at least a portion to return in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom next year.
"That obviously depends on the needs in Iraq and the forces available, but I would think the 101st would be involved in Iraq again," said Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus during a media briefing at Fort Campbell Tuesday. The 101st has just finished the first phase of Iraqi Freedom; the second phase is now underway, and more involvement by the 101st would be phase three.
Looking back on the successes of combat and humanitarian missions in a country basically stripped of its infrastructure by the previous regime, Petraeus based his nation-building ideology on what Mayor Rudolph Guiliani did in New York City after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
"His view was if you fix the broken window it prevents it from becoming a crack house, which prevents it from being a (house of crime), which prevents it from spreading through the neighborhood," said Petraeus, a New Yorker.
Nearly $58 million was filtered through the 101st for more than 5,000 projects in Iraq. Most of the money was from the seized assets of Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party.
Petraeus said by meeting with tribal leaders immediately after the 101st arrived in Mosul on April 22, the wheels were in motion for an Iraqi democracy. Less than a month later, the Ninevah province had water, electricity and schools, and the unemployed population was working again.
"It was a race to get the Iraqi people feeling they had a stake in Iraqi successes," said Petraeus, who added that his personal greatest accomplishment was to "liberate the people from a truly horrible regime."
Brig. Gen. Frank G. Helmick, assistant division commander of operations, gave a two-hour briefing before a question-and-answer session with Petraeus.
One of the missions he discussed was the July 22 raid on the house in Mosul where Uday and Qusay Hussein were killed. Helmick commented on criticism of the attack -- that soldiers used excessive force, resulting in the deaths of Saddam Hussein's sons.
"We didn't want it to be fair. We didn't want it to be close," he said, adding that four soldiers were fired upon and wounded when they first went to the home. With varied and numerous amounts of firepower including anti-tank weapons and 50-caliber guns, Helmick said the raid was considered a success since no troops were killed and $1 million of U.S. currency was confiscated.
"I would much rather tell a wife that we used the appropriate amount of force, than for a soldier (to die) because we didn't have enough firepower," he said.