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Baghdad Anarchy Spurs Call For Help : U.S. Paper
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An Iraqi man holding a gun chases a looter
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BAGHDAD,
May 13 (islamonline.net & News Agencies) -
Baghdad residents and U.S. officials said that U.S. occupation
forces are insufficient to maintain order in the Iraqi capital and
called for reinforcements to calm a wave of violence that has unfurled
over the city, undermining relief and reconstruction efforts and
inspiring anxiety about the future, a leading U.S. paper reported
Tuesday, May 13.
Reports
of carjacking, assaults and forced evictions grew, adding to an
impression that recent improvements in security were evaporating,
reported the Washington post.
Fires
burned anew in several Iraqi government buildings and looting resumed
at one of former President Saddam Hussein's palaces.
The
sound of gunfire rattled during the night; many residents said they
were keeping their children home from school during the day.
Even
traffic was affected, as drivers ignored rules in the absence of Iraqi
police, only to crash and cause tie-ups.
The
calls for more U.S. troops to police the city coincided with the
arrival of L. Paul Bremer III, the Bush administration's new civilian
administrator assigned to run the Pentagon's Office of Reconstruction
and Humanitarian Assistance.
The
U.S. occupation authority, which had previously been headed by retired
Army Lt. Gen. Jay M. Garner, has struggled to restore Iraqi
institutions since Hussein's government collapsed April 9 in the face
of a U.S. military invasion.
Bremer,
who met with senior staff members tonight inside the 258-room
Republican Palace, claimed that he and Garner would work together for
an "efficient and well-organized" transfer of power, with
Garner assisting him for an undetermined period.
He
described his own work as a "wonderful challenge" and
alleged the U.S. task is to "help the Iraqi people regain control
of their own destiny."
Disappointment
But
the British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, expressed disappointment
with efforts so far to bring democracy to Iraq.
He
told the British Parliament that "results in the early weeks have
not been as good as we would have hoped."
Straw
also said the lack of security in Baghdad has been disappointing.
An
office and warehouse belonging to the aid group CARE were attacked
Sunday night.
In
two other weekend incidents, two CARE vehicles were seized by armed
men, the organization reported today, asking the U.S. occupation
forces to "take immediate steps to restore law and order to
Baghdad."
Violence
Is Escalating
"The
violence is escalating," said Anne Morris, a senior CARE staff
member. "We have restricted staff movement for their own safety.
What
does it say about the situation when criminals can move freely about
the city and humanitarian aid workers cannot?"
Baghdad
residents have been increasingly preoccupied by violence and the
uncertainty it has produced, slowing relief and rebuilding efforts.
One
U.S. reconstruction official said tonight, for example, that as the
Americans seek to distribute salaries and pensions, 20 bank branches
have been unable to open without U.S. protection in the absence of a
credible Iraqi police force.
"Security
is the biggest problem we have," the official said. "The
banks don't feel comfortable opening, and I agree with that."
Another
official said foreign companies have showed interest in installing a
badly needed cell phone network, but remain unwilling to do so without
a safe environment for workers.
The
security threat has also limited the ability of reconstruction workers
to move through the city and interact with Iraqis.
Civilian
staff members still have instructions to wear body armor and helmets
and travel with military escorts.
Food
warehouses, hospitals and government offices have reported security
problems, with administrators pleading with U.S. forces to do more.
A
senior staff member with the U.S. reconstruction office said the
responsibility for stabilizing the situation lies with the U.S.
military, which President Bush assigned to run postwar Iraq. Any order
to increase manpower would have to come from Washington.
"Any
time you have a security vacuum," the official said, "the
only people who are going to be able to fill it are the
military."
Top
Priority
U.S.
commanders have described Baghdad's security as their top priority and
have assigned several thousand troops to guard 200 sites and patrol
neighborhoods.
But
they have also said they do not have enough troops to police the
sprawling city or guard every facility that could be targeted by
looters.
Lt.
Gen. David D. McKiernan, commander of ground troops in Iraq, said the
roughly 150,000 soldiers under his command are focusing on many
assignments simultaneously, including hunting for weapons of mass
destruction and Iraq's missing leaders while also imposing order on a
country the size of California.
"Imagine
spreading 150,000 soldiers in the state of California and then ask
yourself could you secure all of California all the time with 150,000
soldiers," McKiernan told reporters last week.
"The
answer is no. So we're focused on certain areas, on certain
transportation networks we need to make sure are open."
The
Pentagon announced early this month that an additional 4,000 soldiers
were being dispatched to Baghdad, bringing the total in the city to
16,000.
The
composition of the force will shift as combat units head home and the
number of military police officers grows from 2,000 to about 4,000 by
mid-June.
McKiernan
emphasized the importance of Iraqis taking charge of their city.
So
far, perhaps half the city's police force has showed up for vetting
and training.
But
relatively few have returned to active work. All 60 of the city's
police stations were looted - five main buildings are occupied by
families of squatters.
There
is no working communications system, and only a small number of police
cars were not ruined by looters during the postwar rampage. Police
officers, prohibited by U.S. forces from carrying anything other than
a sidearm, are wary of confronting antagonists who can outgun them.
The overall situation is further complicated by a disabled court
system and a lack of functioning jails.
Carjacking
Carjackings
have become particularly frequent. A furniture salesman, Abdulsalam
Hussein, said he watched through the picture window of his store as
gunmen chased down a Peugeot sedan on a busy square, ordered the
occupants into the street and sped away. "They had weapons,"
he said. "No one could do anything to help."
On
Rashid Street, a U.S. Army patrol endured a busy day in the section of
the city soldiers call Looterville.
After
chasing down two looters inside a telecommunications building, set
alight Sunday night, several soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division
returned to their Humvees with sweat running down their dusty faces in
rivulets.
"I
don't see it getting better. We can't be everywhere, can we?"
said Pfc. Jacob Weber, 21. "I feel like a cop, but I'm not a
cop."
Across
the Tigris River, another 3rd Infantry reconnaissance unit waded into
a dispute over a shooting, seized an old pistol and warned the
participants to settle their argument by calmer means. The troops
headed wearily back to their base, only to stop within several hundred
yards of it to investigate reports that gunmen were preventing people
from putting out a fire near the gutted Culture Ministry.
"We're
like cops in Baghdad now," said one officer in helmet and armored
vest.
"Iraqi
Vice," deadpanned Sgt. Corey Tondre.
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