Grinder
1 August 2003, 17:50
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 1, 2003 - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff came away from his just-concluded Iraq and
Afghanistan visit pleased with the progress the coalition
is making in both countries.
Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers visited both countries and
consulted with allies in Qatar, India, Pakistan and Oman.
He left July 26 and returned to Washington July 31.
Myers told reporters traveling with him that he was
convinced the coalition was making progress in both
countries and came back home "even more convinced."
The chairman said that the American public sees only
reports of attacks and deaths of U.S. service members, and
not the complete picture. "Any death is a tragedy," he
said. "Our hearts go out to the families and friends of
those killed" in the war on terrorism, he continued. But
there is marked progress in Iraq and Afghanistan.
An official with Combined Joint Task Force 7 in Baghdad
said that the progress is not reported in the media,
"because it isn't seen as news." Deaths are news, said the
official. But coalition forces rebuilding schools, Iraqi
towns electing representative councils and progress on
rebuilding water and electrical utilities also should be
news. "And these things are happening," said the official.
In Iraq, the stores are stocked and busy. In Baghdad, most
stores and shops are open. Myers said the country's north
and south of are stable already. "There are incidents
there," he said. But most happen in the area between Tikrit
and Baghdad, the two parts of the so-called "Baathist
Triangle" that's rounded out with Ar Ramadi. Even progress
there is being made.
People are starting to see the Americans are providing
security, Myers said. The deaths of Saddam's sons Uday and
Qusay have also added to a burgeoning sense of security,
U.S. officials said in Tikrit. Tips to American forces in
the Baath Triangle "spiked" following the reports of the
sons' deaths, and U.S. troops have found a number of arms
caches. In one, they uncovered thousands of pounds of
dynamite and plastic explosive, rifles, rocket-propelled
grenades and ammunition.
Other tips led to the detentions of Baath Party officials,
officers in the Iraqi Republican Guard and agents of the
Iraqi Intelligence Service. "Each tip is taken seriously,
and each raid gives the coalition more information," Myers
said. Officials take this information and use it to modify
tactics to make the next raids more successful.
The chairman said he is also convinced that the attacks
against coalition forces are not the result of a national
effort. Rather, they are the products of local and possibly
regional officials of the former regime. He said the
lieutenant colonels and colonels of the former regime have
access to money and arms and can still terrorize Iraqis on
a local scale.
Myers learned that in some cases former regime officials
are paying poor Iraqis to attack coalition service members.
"These people are just plain mercenaries," he said. "They
are doing (the attacks) for the money" and not any
ideological reason. For the poor Iraqis "it is a matter of
putting food on the table," and coalition forces need to
address this problem too.
In Afghanistan, progress continues in a virtual news
vacuum. Combined Joint Task Force 180 officials said that
on the eve of Operation Iraqi Freedom most of the news
organizations based in Kabul left. "The outstanding jobs
our service members are doing in the face of real hardships
is not getting out," said Army Col. Rodney Davis, the task
force's chief spokesman. "There are still 10,000 Americans
doing great work here. Every day there is progress."
And the progress is not made with large numbers of service
members. Small detachments called provincial reconstruction
teams work with representatives of the interim Afghan
government, other U.S. agencies, local and tribal
representatives and coalition partners to make life better.
"Winning the 'hearts and minds' of the local populace took
on a bad connotation from the Vietnam War, but the idea is
still true," said a task force official. "What we must do
is show the Afghans that there can be peace, there can be
prosperity and they can build better lives for their
families."
The PRTs use local labor to fix the infrastructure, which
can run from building a road and bridge to fixing compounds
and schools. Teams coordinate with coalition and
nongovernmental agencies to conduct medical and dental
clinics. "For some of these people, it's the first medical
care they've seen," Davis said.
And the PRTs have found that veterinary care is also
important. Officials told Myers that veterinary care helps
with coalition outreach to the local community.
Myers said that trips to the frontlines in Iraq and
Afghanistan help him. "I can read a report or look at
pictures, but you don't get the same feel you do by looking
someone in the eye," Myers said. He said the visits help
him in Washington to help set priorities and to reinforce
strategies that work.
Myers told soldiers at the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry, 4th
Infantry Division, in Balad, Iraq, that he wanted to stay
and go on patrol with them, but that the press of business
wouldn't let him. He said later that the contact with the
young men and women on the front lines does more for him
than his presence does for them.
"You can't help but be impressed with these young men and
women," he said. "These are great Americans doing a great
job for our country and the region."
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 1, 2003 - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff came away from his just-concluded Iraq and
Afghanistan visit pleased with the progress the coalition
is making in both countries.
Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers visited both countries and
consulted with allies in Qatar, India, Pakistan and Oman.
He left July 26 and returned to Washington July 31.
Myers told reporters traveling with him that he was
convinced the coalition was making progress in both
countries and came back home "even more convinced."
The chairman said that the American public sees only
reports of attacks and deaths of U.S. service members, and
not the complete picture. "Any death is a tragedy," he
said. "Our hearts go out to the families and friends of
those killed" in the war on terrorism, he continued. But
there is marked progress in Iraq and Afghanistan.
An official with Combined Joint Task Force 7 in Baghdad
said that the progress is not reported in the media,
"because it isn't seen as news." Deaths are news, said the
official. But coalition forces rebuilding schools, Iraqi
towns electing representative councils and progress on
rebuilding water and electrical utilities also should be
news. "And these things are happening," said the official.
In Iraq, the stores are stocked and busy. In Baghdad, most
stores and shops are open. Myers said the country's north
and south of are stable already. "There are incidents
there," he said. But most happen in the area between Tikrit
and Baghdad, the two parts of the so-called "Baathist
Triangle" that's rounded out with Ar Ramadi. Even progress
there is being made.
People are starting to see the Americans are providing
security, Myers said. The deaths of Saddam's sons Uday and
Qusay have also added to a burgeoning sense of security,
U.S. officials said in Tikrit. Tips to American forces in
the Baath Triangle "spiked" following the reports of the
sons' deaths, and U.S. troops have found a number of arms
caches. In one, they uncovered thousands of pounds of
dynamite and plastic explosive, rifles, rocket-propelled
grenades and ammunition.
Other tips led to the detentions of Baath Party officials,
officers in the Iraqi Republican Guard and agents of the
Iraqi Intelligence Service. "Each tip is taken seriously,
and each raid gives the coalition more information," Myers
said. Officials take this information and use it to modify
tactics to make the next raids more successful.
The chairman said he is also convinced that the attacks
against coalition forces are not the result of a national
effort. Rather, they are the products of local and possibly
regional officials of the former regime. He said the
lieutenant colonels and colonels of the former regime have
access to money and arms and can still terrorize Iraqis on
a local scale.
Myers learned that in some cases former regime officials
are paying poor Iraqis to attack coalition service members.
"These people are just plain mercenaries," he said. "They
are doing (the attacks) for the money" and not any
ideological reason. For the poor Iraqis "it is a matter of
putting food on the table," and coalition forces need to
address this problem too.
In Afghanistan, progress continues in a virtual news
vacuum. Combined Joint Task Force 180 officials said that
on the eve of Operation Iraqi Freedom most of the news
organizations based in Kabul left. "The outstanding jobs
our service members are doing in the face of real hardships
is not getting out," said Army Col. Rodney Davis, the task
force's chief spokesman. "There are still 10,000 Americans
doing great work here. Every day there is progress."
And the progress is not made with large numbers of service
members. Small detachments called provincial reconstruction
teams work with representatives of the interim Afghan
government, other U.S. agencies, local and tribal
representatives and coalition partners to make life better.
"Winning the 'hearts and minds' of the local populace took
on a bad connotation from the Vietnam War, but the idea is
still true," said a task force official. "What we must do
is show the Afghans that there can be peace, there can be
prosperity and they can build better lives for their
families."
The PRTs use local labor to fix the infrastructure, which
can run from building a road and bridge to fixing compounds
and schools. Teams coordinate with coalition and
nongovernmental agencies to conduct medical and dental
clinics. "For some of these people, it's the first medical
care they've seen," Davis said.
And the PRTs have found that veterinary care is also
important. Officials told Myers that veterinary care helps
with coalition outreach to the local community.
Myers said that trips to the frontlines in Iraq and
Afghanistan help him. "I can read a report or look at
pictures, but you don't get the same feel you do by looking
someone in the eye," Myers said. He said the visits help
him in Washington to help set priorities and to reinforce
strategies that work.
Myers told soldiers at the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry, 4th
Infantry Division, in Balad, Iraq, that he wanted to stay
and go on patrol with them, but that the press of business
wouldn't let him. He said later that the contact with the
young men and women on the front lines does more for him
than his presence does for them.
"You can't help but be impressed with these young men and
women," he said. "These are great Americans doing a great
job for our country and the region."