News:Lieutenant General Bill Rollo Gives His View On Progress In Iraq

Source: MOD News

Lieutenant General Bill Rollo is the Senior British Military Representative to Iraq and Second in Command of the Coalition forces gave his views to MOD News.

When asked about the troop reductions in Iraq, the Lieutenant General said:

"The force numbers are a result of careful analysis of the troops required to carry out tasks that we anticipate doing next summer. But everything is subject to events, and if they are different to what we currently anticipate, we will do something else."

He also added regarding any 'differences' within the coalition and with General Petraeus command in particular:

"Our plans are fully coordinated with the US. I've found that General Petraeus is always very conscious of his allies. He is prepared to go the extra mile to ensure that our respective interests are taken on board. From a personal and professional level, it works very well."

"I think the surge, together with the change in attitude of the Sunni population, has had a very substantial effect on security across Iraq. It's designed to enable political and economic progress, and the challenge for the Iraqis and us is to make use of the opportunity. Dynamics are different in the south. There is no Sunni insurgency and the provinces face low level intra-Shia violence and criminality. The best people to deal with both are the Iraqis."


With the situation in Basra uncertain and the rise of the power of the milita's, and the the cleric's the he stated:

"There are fundamentalists in Basra, but the Iraqi security forces are gradually exerting their own control. Traditionally Basra was a relatively open society. It may return to that tradition.There are a lot of pressures on the secular society and Iraq is in a period of acute social trauma and instability. But I see no reason why elements of that secular society won't re-establish themselves."

With regard to the future,and the calls to withdraw troops from Iraq he was measured but seemed to put cold water on the idea:

"You can't live here, as I do, and travel around without being conscious of the severity of the challenges facing Iraq. Nevertheless, when I go out, I come back encouraged, as I see, slowly and unevenly, the country coming back to life."

"I think the surge, together with the change in attitude of the Sunni population, has had a very substantial effect on security across Iraq. It's designed to enable political and economic progress, and the challenge for the Iraqis and us is to make use of the opportunity. Dynamics are different in the south. There is no Sunni insurgency and the provinces face low level intra-Shia violence and criminality. The best people to deal with both are the Iraqis."

"It can be intensely frustrating for soldiers, who are working hard to make a difference – and doing so. But we're not the first British soldiers to be in this position and I doubt we'll be the last."

Troops levels are expected to drop to 4,400 in April with a review to drawdown to 2,500 later in the year.

News:Coalition Forces Establish Presence West of the Euphrates

Source: BlackFive.net

Operation Marne Courageous kicked off in the early morning of Nov. 16 with more than 600 coalition forces and Iraqi army soldiers moving into two villages near the border of Anbar province to drive out al-Qaida in Iraq.

Soldiers of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), were joined by about 150 Iraqi army soldiers in the air assault on the Sunni villages of Owesat and al Betra, west of the Euphrates River and approximately 15 miles southwest of Baghdad.

Troops were transported in four helicopter lifts across the Euphrates, utilizing two CH-47 Chinook helicopters and eight UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. A Marine reconnaissance platoon, as well as Soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, stationed in neighboring Anbar province, secured the landing zone.

Troops were transported in four helicopter lifts across the Euphrates, utilizing two CH-47 Chinook helicopters and eight UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. A Marine reconnaissance platoon, as well as Soldiers of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, stationed in neighboring Anbar province, secured the landing zone.

Once on the ground, the U.S.-Iraqi force was supported by an air weapons team of Apache and Kiowa helicopters, while approximately 70 Iraqi Concerned Local Citizens assisted in securing the outlying perimeter.

While U.S. and Iraqi forces moved through the villages, other troops set to work constructing a bridge across the Euphrates to allow for the transport of materials and supplies to build a patrol base in the area. The base will allow for a sustained coalition presence in the area of Owesat, part of Baghdad’s southwestern “belts.”

Marne Courageous’ main strategic thrust is to clear AQI extremists from the area of Owesat, establish a coalition presence, and develop a concerned citizens program in the area as a bulwark against further enemy activity.

Turkey Attacks PKK Positions Inside Iraq

Source:Reuters

Turkish warplanes and troops attacked Kurdish rebels inside Northern Iraq this week, security sources said on Wednesday.

Turkey moved more troops to the mountainous border, keeping up pressure on the Iraqi Government to honour promises to crack down on an estimated 3,000 rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who use the region as a base.

"Further 'hot pursuit' raids into northern Iraq can be expected, though none have taken place so far today (Wednesday)," a military official said. "We are reinforcing our troops near the border at Silopi and Uludere with men drawn from other parts of the country,"

Thirty four PKK rebels were killed in the sorties and all Turkish troops involved in the operations were now inside Turkey. Turkish military sources claimed.
But Abdul Rahman Jaderji, a PKK spokesman in northern Iraq, told Reuters there had been no direct fighting between the two sides since clashes on Sunday in which 12 soldiers were killed.

However Ankara wants to hold back from any major incursion for now to give diplomacy a chance. The Turkish official described as a "final chance" for diplomacy a planned visit by an Iraqi delegation to Ankara on Thursday. At Turkey's request, the team will be headed by Iraqi Defence Minister General Abdel Qader Jassim. It will also include Iraq's National Security Minister Shirwan al Waeli.

"The prime minister has indicated this meeting could produce economic sanctions, for example, cutting off electricity to northern Iraq or the closure or slowing down of traffic at the Habur border gate," said Suat Kiniklioglu, an AK Party spokesperson said

Northern Iraq depends heavily on Turkey for power, water and many food supplies. Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani has infuriated Turkey by refusing to act against the PKK. He has said his peshmerga fighters would resist any Turkish incursion.

Both the US and Iraq fear a major Turkish incursion into northern Iraq could destabilise the whole region. But Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government is under heavy public pressure to take tough action, especially since Sunday's deaths.

Turkey, which has NATO's second biggest army, has deployed as many as 100,000 troops, backed by tanks, F-16 fighter jets and helicopter gunships, along the mountainous border in preparation for a possible large-scale strike. It is also straining US/Turkish relations which had been previously good.

Ankara blames the PKK for the deaths of more than 30,000 people since the group launched its armed campaign for an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey in 1984.

US Forces Clash With Shia Militants-49 dead

Source:Voice of America/Global Security

The U.S. military says its forces have killed 49 militants during fighting in Baghdad's Sadr City district. A U.S. military statement said troops raided the Shi'ite militant stronghold Sunday morning to search for an insurgent involved with high-profile kidnappings funded by Iran,possbly involving Al Quds forces.

The statement said ground troops called in air strikes after being attacked with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. It said militants set off a roadside bomb as the troops left the area.

Iraqi officials said civilians were among those killed.Witnesses say two young children were killed in the fighting. The U.S. military says it killed "criminals" in the operation. Officers said they were not aware of civilians killed in the operation.

News-Pressure increases on Turkish Government to strike back against the PKK

A M60 MBT moving up to the Iraq/Turkish Border in prepration for a cross border strike.

Source:Reuters

Turkey was poised on Monday to strike against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq but will give Washington a few days to try to curb the separatists.

Turkey has deployed as many as 100,000 troops, backed by tanks, F-16 fighter jets and attack helicopters along its border with Iraq in anticipation of a possible incursion, however Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul said: "They are planning a cross-border (incursion) ... We'd like to do these things with the Americans."

Turkey estimates 3,000 rebels from the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) are based across the border and a series of recent attacks on Turkish forces has put intense pressure on Prime Minister Erdogan to act.

Turkey believes U.S. forces could, capture PKK leaders in the Qandil Mountains, shut down their camps and cut off supply routes and logistics support. But Washington is hesitant as such moves could destabilise Iraq's Kurdish region and hurt the regional authority there if it looked as if it were siding with Turkey against fellow Kurds.

Gonul, speaking in Kiev after meeting U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates, said 17 soldiers were killed and 10 were missing. The Turkish losses, among the worst in a decade, came four days after parliament overwhelmingly approved a motion to allow troops to cross into northern Iraq.

Erdogan chaired a weekly cabinet meeting on Monday, which was expected to focus on the fighting and a possible incursion. He was due in London later on an official visit.

The Turkish lira currency fell three percent to 1.2360 against the dollar and the Istanbul stock exchange fell five percent early on Monday on concerns of a cross-border offensive. Turkey's tougher stance has helped propel global oil prices to record highs over the past week. The PKK has said it might target pipelines carrying Iraqi and Caspian crude across Turkey.

U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday urged Turkey not to launch a major incursion into northern Iraq. He spoke after Turkey's parliament approved by a large majority a government request to allow troops to cross into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels based there. The United States fears a cross-border incursion could destabilize the most peaceful part of Iraq and potentially the wider region.

"We are making it very clear to Turkey that we don't think it is in their interests to send troops into Iraq," Bush told a news conference.

The PKK says eight Turkish soldiers were captured in the weekend fighting. Turkish media said more than 200 rebels were involved in the clashes on the Turkish side of the border.