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Conflict in Iraq 'changing'
21/09/2006 23:16 - (SA)
Baghdad - The conflict in Iraq is changing from a fight against US-led coalition forces to an internal struggle for political and economic power, the top US general in Iraq said in an interview on Thursday.
General George Casey acknowledged that the security situation had become more difficult in the past few months, and said Iraqi leaders must find common ground on key issues dividing the country if progress is to be made.
"We're starting to see this conflict here transition from an insurgency against us to a struggle for the division of political and economic power among the Iraqis," Casey told The Associated Press. Crackdown on violence
Casey made the comments as he finished a visit to a northern Baghdad neighbourhood to talk with local officials about an operation currently under way to crack down on violence in the capital.
The operation is designed to clear the capital neighbourhood by neighbourhood, with security forces cordoning off areas and searching all buildings.
"The whole thought process here is to target the worst neighbourhoods where the killings and the violence was the greatest, clear them out, impose Iraqi security forces back into the areas and then follow with economic reconstruction so that you keep the people looking ahead and not looking back," Casey said. Physical barriers
Part of the security operation is the creation of physical barriers around the city - in the form of berms, trenches and roadblocks - to funnel traffic entering and leaving Baghdad through 28 checkpoints.
The barrier "takes advantage of the rivers and the canals around the area, and really just blocks bridges and puts checkpoints around", said Casey. "The notion is push the bad guys out, keep them out, and then gradually go back and re-clear areas so that the people feel safe in their own neighbourhoods."
"But it's a long process, it's not going to happen in two weeks," he said.
- AP
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