No part of Iraq under regime control, US says
Iraq-USA, Military, 4/14/2003

There are no towns under Iraqi regime control now, Army Gen. Tommy Franks said on Fox News Sunday today.

Saddam Hussein's regime cannot exercise control over any portion of the country, the U.S. Central Command commander said, but this does not mean the fighting has ended.

Franks also appeared on CNN's "Late Edition," where he said he is not ready to declare victory, even though the Iraqi regime is destroyed. "We believe that there are a number of military objectives in this country," he said. "One of them for sure is to remove the regime. And we believe this regime is no longer in charge. In fact, it is an ex- regime."

The United States still must find Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, root out terrorist cells and then move to an "end state" where the Iraqi people choose their government, Franks said.

He noted that coalition forces, in their rush to Baghdad, had bypassed a number of villages and cities. Coalition forces will now go into those towns and cities, and there may be fighting by "dead-enders."

"Resistance is spotty," Franks said. "We have had our people in a number of places where they have had a hell of a fight. We have had our people go to other places where we were ready for a huge fight and been greeted by people saying all the regular army people have left."

Franks said there will be more fighting in the capital. He told Fox interviewer Tony Snow that Baghdad has been divided into 55 or 60 block zones, and that coalition forces can expect fighting in 10 to 15 of them. He said coalition forces had "a heck of a fight" around a mosque in eastern Baghdad.

The general said in some cases these fighters are members of the Iraqi Special Republican Guard and the Fedayeen Saddam. And there have been foreign fighters Ð Syrians being the largest nationality represented among them.

He remarked that coalition forces have stopped people from coming into Iraq. "In some cases we have taken them as enemy prisoners of war, and in other cases we have sent them back on their way," he said.

The general would not comment specifically about Syria but did say, "I believe that any nation that wants to control its borders can do so."

Franks admitted there are between 2,000 and 3,000 possible sites in Iraq where the regime may have weapons of mass destruction. He said he firmly believes CENTCOM will find weapons of mass destruction and that no weapons materials left Iraq, although individuals may have been able to escape the country.

The general said that village and city officials in some places are working with coalition forces to help restore their areas. For example, the Iraqis are helping coalition forces identify the Saddam Hussein loyalists, and they are working to establish safety patrols. They are also working with civil affairs experts to fix electricity, water and sewage systems.

Previous Stories:
  Iraqi regime disintegration continues   (4/12/2003)
  Deputy secretary Wolfowitz briefing with Arab / Muslim media regarding Iraq   (4/12/2003)
  Rumsfeld briefs on situation in Iraq   (4/12/2003)
  U.S. Central Command daily briefing on the situation in Iraq   (4/10/2003)
  Saddam's assassination attempt made after monitoring a phone call   (4/10/2003)
  Baghdad is occupied   (4/10/2003)

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