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Rumsfeld in Iraq to review deteriorating Baghdad security
By Jim Mannion
AFP
BAGHDAD
Petroleumworld.com 07 12 06
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld landed in Iraq unannounced Wednesday to review the deteriorating security in Baghdad where dozens have been killed on an almost daily basis despite a massive troop crackdown.
As Rumsfeld flew in, at least nine people were killed in two Baghdad bombings -- including a suicide bombing --, even though more than 50,000 Iraqi and US troops have been patrolling the streets of the capital since last month.
Also between 60 and 80 Shiites were kidnapped from the town of Muqdadiyah, east of Baghdad, a lawmaker said.
A suicide bomber walked into a restaurant in the capital's eastern suburb of Baghdad Jadida, killing seven people and wounding 20, an interior ministry official said.
Two people were killed and two others wounded in a car bomb attack against a police patrol in the capital's Sunni neighbourhood of Adhamiyah.
Since Sunday almost 100 people have been killed in Baghdad in Shiite-Sunni sectarian clashes.
Rumsfeld flew in from Afghanistan for talks with Iraqi leaders, including Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, to discuss strategies to curb the bloodbath and to rein in the militias.
He told the travelling press that the militias needed to be handled politically.
But he did not rule out a military response for those rebel groups that refuse to take part in Maliki's reconciliation plans aimed at curbing the sectarian violence.
In Washington on Tuesday, US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad also stressed that sectarian violence was the number one problem.
"Particularly since the bombing of the Golden Mosque in February, violent sectarianism is now the main challenge. This sectarianism is the source of frequent tragedies on the streets of Baghdad," Khalilzad told the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think-tank.
On February 22 the revered Shiite shrine of Samarra was bombed sparking massive Shiite-Sunni reprisals which have raged on since.
Rumsfeld's visit also comes at a time when the US military is battling accusations of abuse by its troops, including the rape and murder of a teenage girl and killing of three family members.
Maliki has called for a review of the immunity enjoyed by US-led coalition troops from Iraqi laws.
But Rumsfeld rejected such a move and insisted these allegations will be dealt through the US military judicial system.
"We have arrangements so that our people are processed by our people. And that's under the Coalition Provisional Authority that has been blessed by the Iraqi government. That's the way things will be handled," Rumsfeld said.
A former soldier and five others stationed in Iraq have been charged in the rape and murder of the girl and the murder of three family members in the town of Mahmudiyah, south of Baghdad.
Rumsfeld would not say whether he expected the issue to be raised with Maliki and chided reporters for focusing on the case when Iraq faced major issues such as Baghdad security and the militias.
He also listed a comprehensive review of Iraq's national security situation, the size and mix of the Iraqi forces, efforts to develop effective government ministries, as well as a system of justice.
US military commanders could consider putting more American troops on the street in response to the upsurge of sectarian violence, said the defence secretary said.
At the moment around 8,000 US troops are backing Iraqi forces as part of the Baghdad security plan.
Khalilzad said a joint US and Iraqi panel would soon decide on a possible drawdown of troops, but warned "a danger exists in going too fast or too slow in drawing down coalition forces".
"A precipitous coalition departure could unleash a sectarian civil war which inevitably would draw neighbouring states into a regional conflict ... that would disrupt oil supplies and cause instability," the ambassador said.
"It could also result in Al-Qaeda taking over part of Iraq," he added.
But Rumsfeld added: "It is as much of a political task as anything. They're (authorities) going to have to engage in a reconciliation process with the Sunnis and they are going to have to address the Shia armed groups politically."
Maliki meanwhile vowed that the security forces were capable of fending off any attempt by insurgents to take control of Baghdad, especially the west of the capital.
"We heard they intend to occupy Karkh, but our security forces are well equipped to face them off," Maliki told parliament, referring to a main district on the west bank of the Tigris River.
AFP 12 0925 GMT 07 06
Copyright ©2006 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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