US fears failure if Iraq withdrawal time is set
Iraq-USA, Military, 7/8/2006

The US military pointed to progress of the Iraqi army by saying the Iraqi army executed a solo military operation in Baghdad yesterday, capturing a high-value insurgent.

US Army Major General William Caldwell told reporters in the Iraqi capital just hours after the successful operation that the Iraqi army planned, organized, led and carried out the independent ground assault. Coalition forces were nearby and provided some air support for the operation in eastern Baghdad.

Caldwell said Iraqi intelligence alerted the army that "a very significant criminal" was located in a residential neighborhood. While the individual has not been identified publicly, the spokesman said he has been involved in weapons transfers from Syria, killed two Iraqi soldiers and has been associated with cases resulting in the kidnapping, torture and murder of Iraqi citizens. He said the captured criminal also was wanted because he has been linked to vigilante justice against perceived enemies.

Meantime, Iraqi security forces are making final preparations to assume full control of the province of Muthanna in mid-July. US Army Brigadier General Kurt Cichowski, said yesterday from Baghdad, adding Muthanna will be the first of Iraq's 18 provinces to be turned over fully from coalition control.

This transfer is another Iraqi success, he said, and signals the "tangible beginning of a brand-new phase" for the Iraqi government. By the end of 2006, Cichowski said, he expects about nine of the provinces to be completely under Iraqi control.

But with indications that their may be growing call from Iraqi politicians for a deadline to leave Iraq, US President President George W. Bush said yesterday that the United States will achieve its objective of ensuring that Iraq is a free country, able to govern, defend and sustain itself, but only if it rejects calls to establish artificial timetables for withdrawal of US troops.

"You can't win a war if you have an artificial timetable for withdrawal. You know, you can't have people making troop decisions based upon political considerations. It just won't work, Bush said.

He said a timetable and early withdrawal simply would confirm al-Qaida's belief that the United States does not have the stomach for the fight or the perseverance to support the Iraqi people. He said General George Casey, who commands the multinational forces in Baghdad, Iraq, would make determinations of troop levels.

Bush said the war effort is difficult because of the enemy's strategy of killing innocent people to achieve its goals. He said terrorist attacks create sensational television images, while stories of increased power generation, new schools, new hospitals, refurbished infrastructure and the growth of small businesses go unreported.

The terrorists' objectives, the president said, "is to drive us out of Iraq so they can have safe haven from which to launch attacks against modern Muslim nations, so they can spread their ideology of hate."

He said Iraq is too important to long-term peace and to US security to allow this to happen. "A free Iraq is an essential part of changing the conditions which cause the terrorist to be able to recruit killers in the first place," he said.

Bush said that freedom is a universal desire "etched in the soul of every person on the face of the Earth... and I know that freedom has got the capacity to change regions of the world for the better."

Bush expressed confidence in Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, who "represents the will of 12 million who went to the polls," citing him as a man who sets goals and understands what needs to be done.

Previous Stories:
  No US soldier immune from prosecution for criminal acts   (7/7/2006)
  US: New al-Qaida leader may boost mobile bombs   (7/6/2006)
  On prosecution of US soldiers by Iraqi authorities   (7/6/2006)
  White House disagrees on Iraq withdrawal Congressional debate   (7/5/2006)
  US money award for al-Qaida leaders in Iraq   (7/4/2006)
  US army sees progress in Iraq; helicopter crash   (7/3/2006)

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