Word: iraqi
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...first I attributed [the decline in violence] to the American presence and the Iraqi presence," said Capt. Matthew Koehler, 30, who works with the American team advising the Iraqi Army unit that patrols south Ghazaliya. "I thought that was the extent of it, until I saw the insurgents trying to blow up those barriers...
...Iraqi politicians of all stripe may have protested, but the wall around the Baghdad neighborhood of Ghazaliya has gone up anyway. U.S. and Iraqi soldiers have ringed the southern part of the neighborhood with concrete barriers, a move that has improved security but also prompted fears among local Sunnis that they are being ghettoized...
...Last month, the U.S. Army began constructing some 2.5 miles of concrete barriers around southern Ghazaliya. The area, a Sunni insurgent stronghold, is notorious for relentless attacks on American and Iraqi soldiers, and for the execution of civilians who cross the insurgency. Since the barriers went up - limiting movement in and out of the area to two checkpoints, one on the east and the other on the west side of the area - violence has declined dramatically...
...According to Capt. Jon Brooks, who recently took command of the U.S. unit responsible for south Ghazaliya, the number of civilian bodies dumped in the neighborhood has declined by more than 50% since the barriers went up. An Iraqi who lives in Ghazaliya and reports for TIME agreed that local violence - from kidnappings and killings to sectarian clashes - has been curtailed by the wall...
...Certainly the Iraqi leaders must assume that the cost in lives and treasure of the U.S. remaining in their country with no prospect of victory will become prohibitive to Washington, as it already seems to have for the majority of the American public. But postponing that moment as long as possible has its advantages, allowing the Iraqi factions to build their own strength while trying to direct U.S. firepower against their foes. Even Sadr, keeping one foot in the government of Shi'ite power and the other on the streets denouncing the Americans, is demanding a timetable...