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| Iraq |
| Gen. Hertling speaks about Mosul |
| 2008-01-30 |
| The top U.S. commanders in northern Iraq, meanwhile, said Tuesday the battle to push al-Qaida out of its last urban stronghold would be a protracted "campaign for Mosul." The military leaders also discounted statements by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki that Iraqi forces headed into Nineveh province would be conducting a "decisive" confrontation in a major attack to begin as soon as all units are in place. "It is not going to be this climactic battle that I think is somewhat being portrayed in the press. It's going to be probably a slow process that fits into the clear hold and build strategy that we've used recently," said Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, commander of Multi-National Division North. In a telephone interview from Tikrit, Hertling said he was moving a considerable force of "enablers" into the province and Mosul, its capital. He would not disclose numbers, but said the move on Mosul had long been planned. "I think the folks in the political arena who are saying what they're saying are doing it for a reason," he said in reference to comments by al-Maliki who has said he was massing forces toward Mosul for a showdown with al-Qaida. Lt. Col. Michael Simmering, of the 3rd Armored Cavalry at Forward Operating Base Marez near Mosul, discounted reports that large numbers of al-Qaida foot soldiers had migrated to Mosul after heavy pressure from U.S. forces in central Iraq. What's more, he said, the conflict in Mosul and the surrounding Nineveh province pits U.S. and Iraqi forces against a far more fractured insurgency than they have faced recently as they swept north from successes Baghdad and Anbar province in the west. "The thing about the insurgency in Mosul is that there are many different facets. We have the Islamic Army, the Islamic State of Iraq, al-Qaida in Iraq and the 1920 Revolution Brigade, all vying for different things at this point," Simmering said. "This is going to be a long, protracted push by coalition forces and more importantly by Iraqi security forces to re-establish security," Simmering said. "If you're looking for one big culminating event, you'll never quite see it. I call this the 'campaign for Mosul.'" |
| Posted by:ed |