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| Monday, 8 September 2003 |
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US: security in Iraq up to Iraqis themselves U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said it was up to Iraqis and not the American-led occupiers to control violence unleashed since the fall of Saddam Hussein. Earlier, Rumsfeld lauded what he said was the "wonderful start" to rebuilding Iraq when he addressed U.S. and Polish soldiers among the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon, even as guerrillas attacked his troops and protesters marched for jobs. "This country belongs to the Iraqi people. And in the last analysis, it is the Iraqi people who will provide the security in this country," Rumsfeld told a news conference in Baghdad. Rumsfeld's comments, at the end of a three-day tour of Iraq, were intended to stem mounting criticism of U.S. forces for failing to control lawlessness and prevent a string of car bombs which have killed more than 120 people in the last month. He challenged Iraqis to provide more information on militants in their midst, described by Washington as Saddam loyalists aided by foreign Islamic extremists. "Instead of pointing fingers at the security forces of the coalition because there are acts of violence taking place against Iraqi people in this country, it's important for the Iraqi people to step up and take responsibility." Underlining the problems plaguing Iraq, guerrillas staged fresh attacks on U.S. patrols while hundreds of protesters marched in the south to demand jobs. In the worst of the attacks, U.S. soldiers killed two Iraqis who opened fire at an observation post in Saddam's home town of Tikrit, north of Baghdad, local commanders said. Meanwhile More British troop reinforcements were on their way to Iraq. An additional 120 British troops were due to arrive in Iraq from their rear base in Cyprus, bringing British troops numbers in the war-torn country to a total of 10,620. "They are going to be reinforcing the multinational force in the southeast based in Basra and they are going to be involved in a variety of tasks, all of them related to security," British military spokesman Major Niall Greenwood said. Major General Andrzej Tyszkiewicz, the Polish officer commanding the 9,000-strong contingent that took command Wednesday, also said it faced major challenges but added: "We must succeed. There is no other way." The biggest task, the general said, was welding soldiers from 21 nations together into a fighting force. He said the United States would provide military police and intelligence in addition to logistics support. |
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