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| Iraq |
| U.S. commander warns Iraqi armed groups must be legitimized |
| 2007-12-26 |
| The top U.S. commander in the area south of Baghdad warned that armed groups of Sunni fighters must be recognized as legitimate members of Iraqi society and be rewarded for their efforts at fighting al-Qaida in Iraq _ or the hard-fought security gains of the past six months could be lost. Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, who leads the 3rd Infantry Division, has credited the tribal groups known as Awakening Councils, Concerned Citizens and other names, for much of the security that has been brought to the region he commands, which stretches from Iran to the east and Saudi Arabia to the south. Lynch said that he had 26,000 members of the groups the area he controls and that they given U.S. and Iraqi forces a key advantage in seeking to clear extremist-held pockets. They number about 70,000men countrywide, and are expected to grow by another 45,000 incoming months. The groups, along with a surge of U.S. troops into Iraq and a decision by firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to stand down his Mahdi Army militia for six months, have contributed to a 60percent drop in violence around Iraq since June. |
| Posted by:Fred |