Gold9472
04-26-2005, 08:54 PM
Iraqi insurgency 'undiminished'
The most senior officer in the US armed forces, General Richard Myers, says Iraqi insurgents have lost none of their capacity to stage attacks.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4488099.stm
The chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff said there were 50 to 60 attacks a day, the same level as one year ago.
He said it is too early to judge whether a recent surge in violence amounted to a concerted campaign.
The BBC's Pentagon correspondent says US optimism felt after the success of the Iraq elections has dissipated.
Recent attacks
The US Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, said the key to winning the insurgency was ensuring that the political process in Iraq takes hold.
Speaking of the insurgents who have waged a campaign of violence since the invasion by coalition forces in 2003, General Myers said:
"I think their capacity stays about the same. And where they are right now is where they were almost a year ago."
The last week in Iraq has seen a welter of attacks, with dozens dead in suicide bombs and a civilian helicopter brought down outside Baghdad.
But the general insisted it is too early to say whether a new concerted campaign of violence by insurgents is under way.
Incorrect measure
General Myers said just counting the number of attacks was a poor method of measuring the insurgency and pointed out that half of attacks are thwarted.
"I think we're definitely winning. I think we've been winning for some time," General Myers said.
Nonetheless, the BBC's Adam Brookes at the Pentagon said it was clear that the optimism, euphoria even, that gripped America's military leadership after the success of the Iraqi elections in January, has now dissipated.
The view from Washington is that success in Iraq now depends on the new government in Baghdad and whether or not it can entrench itself and become a cause that Iraqis will deem worth fighting for, our correspondent said.
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he did not believe it would be the efforts of US and coalition forces that proved decisive in the battle against the insurgents.
"The people that are going to defeat that insurgency are going to be the Iraqis. And the Iraqis will do it not through military means solely, but by progress on the political side and giving the Iraqi people a sense that they have a stake in that country," Mr Rumsfeld said.
The most senior officer in the US armed forces, General Richard Myers, says Iraqi insurgents have lost none of their capacity to stage attacks.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4488099.stm
The chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff said there were 50 to 60 attacks a day, the same level as one year ago.
He said it is too early to judge whether a recent surge in violence amounted to a concerted campaign.
The BBC's Pentagon correspondent says US optimism felt after the success of the Iraq elections has dissipated.
Recent attacks
The US Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, said the key to winning the insurgency was ensuring that the political process in Iraq takes hold.
Speaking of the insurgents who have waged a campaign of violence since the invasion by coalition forces in 2003, General Myers said:
"I think their capacity stays about the same. And where they are right now is where they were almost a year ago."
The last week in Iraq has seen a welter of attacks, with dozens dead in suicide bombs and a civilian helicopter brought down outside Baghdad.
But the general insisted it is too early to say whether a new concerted campaign of violence by insurgents is under way.
Incorrect measure
General Myers said just counting the number of attacks was a poor method of measuring the insurgency and pointed out that half of attacks are thwarted.
"I think we're definitely winning. I think we've been winning for some time," General Myers said.
Nonetheless, the BBC's Adam Brookes at the Pentagon said it was clear that the optimism, euphoria even, that gripped America's military leadership after the success of the Iraqi elections in January, has now dissipated.
The view from Washington is that success in Iraq now depends on the new government in Baghdad and whether or not it can entrench itself and become a cause that Iraqis will deem worth fighting for, our correspondent said.
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said he did not believe it would be the efforts of US and coalition forces that proved decisive in the battle against the insurgents.
"The people that are going to defeat that insurgency are going to be the Iraqis. And the Iraqis will do it not through military means solely, but by progress on the political side and giving the Iraqi people a sense that they have a stake in that country," Mr Rumsfeld said.