CPA Briefing 3-25-2004:
- Ambassador Bremer had a meeting with the Baghdad City Council and they indicated that they needed beautification projects, if you will, for the city of Baghdad -- creation and rehabilitation of city parks, rest areas, public squares, playgrounds, recreation areas, installation and repair of lighting to illuminate outdoor public places. Ambassador Bremer at the meeting with the Baghdad City Council agreed to disperse $10 million within the next three months for city beautification projects. The funding will be distributed equally to each of Baghdad’s nine belladiahs (ph), which equals just over $1.1 million for each district.
- Two days ago, a patrol was attacked by small-arms fire near Hamam al-Ali (ph). One soldier was wounded with non-life-threatening injuries. He was evacuated to the 67th Support Hospital and is stable condition. Our snipers engaged the attackers and are believed to have killed one of the attackers.
- Drive-by shooters also attacked an Iraqi traffic-control point near Hamam al-Ali (ph). The Iraqi police returned fire and killed two of the assailants.
- Yesterday a patrol was engaged north of Taji, resulting in one coalition soldier killed and one wounded. The unit returned fire and killed three enemy personnel.
- In the southeastern zone of operations, a hasty operation to capture the leader of the Garmasha (ph) tribe was conducted in Basra. The target was successfully captured and his home searched, resulting in the discovery of 50 million dinar and two rifles. The target has been detained for further questioning.
- We remain concerned at what is clearly a program of intimidation and targeting of not only the Iraqi police service, but all Iraqi government officials. It is true that a significant number of Iraqi police have been killed over the past year, somewhere on the order of about 350. What I would say is that it’s a credit and it’s a tribute to the Iraqi police service that despite the amount of attacks that they endure on almost a daily basis that they still have a tremendously high morale. Sadly but proudly, they recognize that the death of their colleagues has occurred because they are working towards a new Iraq, one that is free, sovereign and democratic. They are attempting to impose the rule of law into this society. And we have not seen a significant downturn in either the recruitment or the retention rates of the Iraqi police service; again, a tribute to not only their bravery, but their patriotism and their mission focus. And we should all be very, very grateful for their service to this country, particularly under the trying circumstances of which they operate every day.
- But the important point is, there is general agreement with the heads of the -- with the leadership of the peshmerga and the Kurdish leadership on the importance of winding down that security organization. There is agreement on the importance of individuals who serve in every -- any Iraqi security organization do so as individual Iraqis serving to protect the unified Iraq, not as representatives of some political organization or sectarian militia. And now we’re just working on the implementation.
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