US military commander: Iraqi security forces ready for third election
Iraq-USA, Politics, 12/10/2005

A US military commander whose forces operate in western Iraq says Iraqi security forces are ready for the country's third election in 2005.

Army Brigadier General Augustus Collins addressed reporters at the Pentagon December 9 via videoconference from his post in Iraq about preparations for the December 15 election and humanitarian assistance efforts his troops have carried out during their deployment.

In western Iraq, he said, Iraqi police and Army forces will be handling all security for the upcoming election – everything from protecting poll sites to securing ballots.

The coalition, meanwhile, will be in constant radio communication with them, but will be physically distant from the polls. "If there is a need for our coalition forces to be involved in some type of incident, then we will," Collins said. But based on the experience of the last two elections [October 15 and January 30], he said, "we really don't anticipate having to do anything on Election Day."

Collins, who is commander of the 155th Brigade Combat Team, is responsible for 4,200 soldiers who conduct operations with Iraqi security forces primarily in cities such as Najaf and Karbala. During the past 11 months, he said his units have captured 1,500 suspected terrorists, seized 28,000 weapons, and collected 26,000 pounds of explosives and munitions.

But it is the humanitarian efforts of his soldiers that have gone a long way toward establishing a rapport with local communities. Collins cited some of the highlights:

• Renovating 49 schools by upgrading the physical structures and providing desks, chairs, tables, chalkboards and backpacks;

• Renovating two floors of the Najaf teaching hospital that now treats 400 outpatients daily; and

• Renovating the Najaf soccer stadium that drew 20,000 fans for its first game this year.

Collins' military medical personnel also treat patients they encounter during their security missions and some medical civil affairs teams go out into rural areas to offer dental care and physical checkups.

When his troops first arrived in Iraq, "the people didn't really talk to us that much," the commander said, "but now they've opened up to us, and they see the way to peace is through this democratic idea that we're trying to share with them." As a result, he said, Iraqi civilians are working with the military to locate insurgents so they can be arrested and taken off the streets. Locals are telling soldiers where insurgents live so they can "go and pick them up," he added.

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