|
Allawi Welcomes Fallujah Strike, Restructures Forces
 |
|
Allawi ordered formation of "effective Iraqi command and control system to integrate all these forces "
|
FALLUJAH,
June 20 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Iraqi interim prime
minister Iyad Allawi defended Sunday, June 20, a deadly American air
strike that claimed the lives of many Iraqis, including women and
children, in the western Baghdad city of Fallujah.
He
also announced during a press conference restructuring security forces
vowing to deploy all security forces, including the army, in the fight
against "insurgents," reported Reuters.
"We
know that a house which had been used by terrorists had been hit. We
welcome this hit on terrorists anywhere in Iraq," Allawi said,
adding the American military had informed his government before the
air strike.
The
American occupation forces claimed the strike, which claimed the lives
of 24 Iraqis , targeted a safe house used by militants led by
Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian who has a $10 million price on his
head and described by Washington as Al-Qaeda's leader in Iraq.
However,
Fallujah's police chief and a senior officer in the Fallujah Brigade
in charge of security in the flashpoint repudiated the claim that
foreign fighters had operated from the house.
"We
inspected the damage, we looked through the bodies of the women and
children and elderly. This was a family," Brigadier Nouri Aboud
of the Fallujah Brigade told Reuters.
"There
is no sign of foreigners having lived in the house. Zarqawi and his
men have no presence in Fallujah."
At
least 700 Iraqis, mostly
women and children , were killed and 1500 others injured when
the US occupation forces imposed a tight siege on the city and
intensified air strikes on its densely-populated areas.
A
truce was later agreed, under which the Fallujah Brigade, led by
former Iraqi army officers, was put in charge of security in the city.
But
on April 13, the US troops breached the ceasefire, killing at least
nine Iraqis and wounding up to 38 others.
Restructuring
Security
Allawi
also announced a dramatic overhaul of the country's defense structure,
vowing to deploy all security forces, including the army, in the fight
against what he termed as "insurgents."
He
said a new command and control structure would streamline the
country's defenses, with top officials reporting directly to him,
reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The
premier also announced the formation of an elite military unit to
battle "insurgents" and stem unrest.
"I
have directed that the immediate priority is to establish an effective
Iraqi command and control system to integrate all these forces while I
will have ultimate responsibility for national security," Allawi
told the news conference.
 |
|
Fallujah's residents pick through burned copies of the Noble Qur'an in their homes which were destroyed in a US air strike
|
"The
Iraqi military will report to me through the armed forces chief of
staff and the ministry of defense. The police and other security
forces will be responsible to me through the minister of interior and
other respective ministries.
"Our
capabilities will enable us to take necessary action against forces of
evil and I have laid the foundation for creating a national
directorate for internal security."
Allawi
said a specialized military force would be formed to launch
pre-emptive attacks against the "insurgents", many of whom
he said were foreigners or supporters of the ousted regime of Saddam
Hussein.
He
announced that the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps (ICDC) would be renamed
as the Iraqi National Guard and would come under the command of the
army, which would also include "the Iraqi intervention forces and
our special forces".
All
security forces would be deployed in the war against the
"insurgents, " including large chunks of the army.
"In
these difficult times, substantial elements of the army will have to
assist in the struggle against internal threats to our national
security," Allawi said.
Allawi
added that his government was considering declaring a "state of
emergency in some areas" once it takes over power from the US
occupation authority by June 30.
He
admitted drawing up the new plan after consulting US Deputy Defense
Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and the British defense ministry's top civil
servant Kevin Tebbit.
The
New York Times quoted on
Wednesday, June 9, several ex-intelligence officials as saying that
Allawi ran an organization that carried out a bombing campaign, in
collaboration with the CIA , in Iraq in the 1990s to topple
then President Saddam Hussein.
The
USA Today said Wednesday, June 2, that Allawi's selection
followed a rather expensive public relation and lobbying
campaign to garner political support in Washington.
On
Saturday, May 29 , the
New York Times said "the choice of Allawi was forced by the
United States as a fait accompli on the United Nations and the Iraqi
people."
|
