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<DIV align=center><A href="http://www.latimes.com/"></A> </DIV><A
href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-reality24sep24.story">http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-reality24sep24.story</A>
<H1>Violence Belies Positive Picture</H1>
<H2>Few agree with Allawi's assessment as anxiety grips the nation amid a surge
in attacks.</H2>By Patrick J. McDonnell<BR>Times Staff Writer<BR><BR>September
24, 2004<BR><BR>BAGHDAD Large swaths of Iraq remain outside the control of the
interim government, major highways are fraught with attackers, and interim Prime
Minister Iyad Allawi along with the U.S. Embassy and much of the international
community must conduct business in fortified compounds guarded by tanks, blast
walls and barbed wire.<BR><BR>In Washington, Allawi gave Congress an upbeat
assessment Thursday, but the situation in Iraq is more
complicated.<BR><BR>Allawi said the Iraqi people were making steady progress in
taking control of the nation's affairs. His interim government had assumed
sovereignty from the U.S.-led occupation. It had reopened schools and hospitals
damaged in the war. Despite attacks, hundreds of Iraqis were still volunteering
to join the police and army. And he pledged that the country would hold
elections in January.<BR><BR>Widespread anxiety engulfed much of Iraq this month
as a wave of car bombings, kidnappings and gun battles killed scores of American
soldiers, Iraqi civilians and hostages.<BR><BR>The continuing violence has
overshadowed signs of progress and put a damper on the prospect of democratic
elections.<BR><BR>"How can we hold elections when they will bomb every polling
booth?" asked Husham Mahdi, a 29-year-old communications engineer in Baghdad,
echoing a common sentiment.<BR><BR>In a question and answer session after his
speech to Congress, Allawi described Baghdad as "very good and safe."<BR><BR>In
the city of Samarra, Allawi noted, a new police chief had been appointed and
Iraqi forces were patrolling the city "in close coordination" with the U.S.-led
coalition. But U.S. commanders say the insurgent stronghold, which the Army
recently entered for the first time in months, remains far from
pacified.<BR><BR>"Samarra is not over with," said Lt. Col. James Stockmoe,
intelligence officer with the 1st Infantry Division, which patrols Samarra.
<BR><BR>The police chief appointed this month, at least the 12th since Saddam
Hussein's ouster, resigned within a few days after receiving death threats.
<BR><BR>Some U.S. military officials fear that the city's police force is
largely in cahoots with insurgents, giving them access to weapons and vehicles.
In July, a suicide bomber used a police vehicle to plow into the Army base
outside Samarra, killing five U.S. soldiers and injuring 18.<BR><BR>Allawi
blamed the American media for failing to report some of the positive steps his
government had taken with the help of the U.S.-led coalition. He cited social
programs such as polio vaccinations and other efforts. He said thousands of
Iraqis had gotten jobs, salaries had increased dramatically and the economy "has
finally started to flourish."<BR><BR>Allawi praised efforts to train more
soldiers and police and said the performance of the new Iraqi security forces
was "improving every day." <BR><BR>U.S. commanders credit Iraqi forces for
helping to rid Najaf of fighters loyal to radical cleric Muqtada Sadr. But it
remains questionable whether they can take on insurgents without U.S. help.
Shortages of equipment and personnel continue to plague the forces.<BR><BR>On a
recent visit to Baqubah, where police have often been targeted, Army Lt. Gen.
David H. Petraeus who is overseeing the training of Iraqi forces listened as
local police and national guard officers said they desperately needed more
trained officers and equipment. His visit came a few days after 11 provincial
police officers were killed in a drive-by attack.<BR><BR>"We've got to create a
training academy here," said Petraeus, who also offered to ship new armored
vehicles, body armor and other gear from Baghdad. <BR><BR>The continued
inability of Iraqi forces to secure areas after U.S. offensives has been a major
reason such operations have been put on hold in places like Samarra and
Fallouja.<BR><BR>"We have got the tactical ability to do just about anything,
but what I don't want to do is create a vacuum," Lt. Gen. Thomas F. Metz,
operational chief for U.S.-led multinational forces, said in a recent
interview.<BR><BR>Allawi said that in the city of Tall Afar, in northwestern
Iraq, the interim government had "reversed" an attempted insurgent
takeover.<BR><BR>Reports from the city indicate that masked rebels no longer
control the town. But the city's Turkmen majority, regarded a U.S. ally, is
resentful after what it views as excessive American force and bombing, which was
approved by Allawi's government. <BR><BR>Allawi also cited "success" in Najaf
and Kufa, where residents celebrated the ouster of Sadr, the militant
cleric.<BR><BR>Although the militia was routed in both cities, many fighters
appear to have moved to Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood. Daily firefights and
roadside bombs have plagued the U.S. there.<BR><BR>Allawi said it was "a fact"
that elections could be held in 15 of Iraq's 18 provinces "tomorrow." But few
experts would agree. The consensus among poll-watchers is that holding
nationwide elections by January, as scheduled, will be difficult.<BR><BR>Apart
from the widespread violence, the provinces lack electoral infrastructure
which some view as a greater challenge than security. <BR><BR>And critics say it
is hard to argue that security is a problem in only three provinces of a nation
where suicide bombers have struck from Basra in the south to Irbil in the
north.<BR><BR>Allawi cited the renovation of schools and clinics and the
restoration of many services as signs of progress. But many Iraqis note that the
schools were open before Hussein's ouster, and power blackouts and gasoline
shortages remain major irritants. <BR><BR>Allawi's upbeat assessment did not
mention a core problem the disenfranchisement of the Sunni Muslim
minority.<BR><BR>Sunni Muslims, who lost their preferred status after Hussein's
defeat, launched the insurgency that has managed to hold off the world's most
powerful military.<BR><BR>"They are the key to the population here," said Col.
John C. Coleman, chief of staff of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, which
patrols the Sunni heartland to the west and north of Baghdad. "Many of them look
to the central government not as their advocate
. There are many who would just
like a seat at the table and don't quite understand how to get there just yet.
They are frustrated by the process."<BR><BR>Allawi's overtures to the residents
of Samarra, Fallouja and Ramadi Sunni-dominated cities still far from
government control have yielded no lasting breakthroughs. <BR><BR>In his
speech Thursday, the interim prime minister did not highlight Fallouja, which
has become a sanctuary for insurgents and the target of intense U.S. bombings
supported by his government. City leaders who have met with representatives of
the interim government say it has lost credibility because of close U.S.
ties.<BR><BR>"There were some promises made," said Ahmad Hardan, a physician
from Fallouja who has been in talks with Allawi's envoys. "But we started to
realize that whenever our delegation would go back to Baghdad, the city of
Fallouja would be bombed. And we would start asking, 'Why is this happening?
Where are the promises?' "<BR><BR>
<HR width="20%">
<I>Special correspondents Caesar Ahmed and Suhail Ahmed contributed to this
report.<BR><BR></I>
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