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WASHINGTON, – The percentage of foreign fighters
in Iraq is increasing, the top U.S. military
official in the region said today.
Speaking to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in Mosul, Iraq, Army
Gen. John Abizaid, commander of U.S. Central
Command, said most of the insurgents in the country
are Iraqis, but “the percentage of foreign fighters
over the past several months seems to have
increased.”
He said this is because fewer Iraqis have decided to
resort to violence. “The terrorist groups such as
that led by Abu Musab al Zarqawi continue to be very
dangerous,” he said. Zarqawi, who has claimed
responsibility for the most horrendous attacks in
the country, is affiliated with al Qaeda. The group
is operating primarily in the Sunni areas of Iraq
and areas with a mixed population, such as Mosul.
But many Iraqis still are in the insurgency. “Many
of the former Baathist criminals, who know they
won’t have an opportunity to participate in the
political future of the country, are continuing to
fight,” the general said.
But the elections of Jan. 30 encouraged Iraqis,
Abizaid said, and the performance of the Iraqi
security forces in those elections also is a cause
for hope. “Certainly it’s better since the
election,” Abizaid said. “I think continued military
operations and continuing strengthening of the Iraqi
security forces will make it better still.”
He said the most well-established and well-known
route for foreign terrorists goes through Syria.
Syrian forces know there are cells in Damascus,
Aleppo and other Syrian cities that facilitate
foreign fighters going to Iraq, he added. “Their
security services can find those facilitation cells;
they can dismantle them,” Abizaid said. “And they
can certainly go after the people we have identified
by name that are former members of the regime that
are coordinating actions inside Syria.”
The general stopped short of saying the Syrian
government is making sure foreign fighters get
through to Iraq. “I won’t go so far as to say that
these groups have the active support of the Syrian
government,” he said, “but the Syrians certainly
aren’t doing enough to shut off their support for
the insurgency.”
He said Iran is also paying close attention to what
is happening in Iraq. “We know that Iranian
intelligence services people were involved with
Muqtada al-Sadr during the uprisings back in April,”
he said, “and then again in November (Iranian
operatives) showed themselves in the Najaf area.”
Both Syria and Iran must realize that the best thing
that could happen in the region is for a peaceful,
prosperous Iraq to take shape, he said.
Abizaid said he is encouraged by all the political
maneuvering going on in regard to the formation of
the new government in Baghdad, but said “the longer
the delay in forming a new Iraqi government, the
more uncertainty there will be.”
Uncertainty means a greater chance of violence. “My
view is the vast majority of people in Iraq,
regardless of ethnicity, are moderate people,” he
said. “They want to move forward to a better era of
peace and prosperity. The whole question is whether
or not the political leadership can get together and
show the statesmanship necessary to move the country
together as Iraqis. I’m optimistic they’ll be able
to do that.”
Once the government is established and more Iraqi
security forces are trained, there will be “an
opportunity for a substantial drawdown in our own
forces,” he said.
Abizaid had harsh words for Sunni Arab leaders. Many
Sunni groups boycotted the election. “There is
certainly a Sunni leadership that needs to step
forward and lead the Sunni community to participate
in the future of a peaceful and prosperous Iraq,” he
said. “They need to step forward now.
“There are many influential Sunni Arab leaders that
can move the community forward,” he continued. “They
know who they are. They need to step forward, and
they need to participate in the future. I believe
that the door is open to them.”
Abizaid said that it is Iraqis, not Americans or
other coalition powers, that will make the decisions
in the country. “There is a great opportunity in
2005 for the Iraqi political process to come
together, for the Iraqi security forces to come
together and for the country to move together toward
a brighter future,” he said. “We are here to help
them make a difference. Whether they seize the
opportunity or not is up to them. But we have given
them a golden opportunity to move forward in a way
that is revolutionary in this part of the world.”
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