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Defense Department Report, January 27: Iraq Operational Update

27 January 2006

Security situation in Tal Afar has improved, commander says

A U.S. military commander who works in northwestern Iraq says the security situation has changed visibly in the town of Tal Afar and that sectarian violence there is winding down.

Army Colonel H. R. McMaster said the average number of daily attacks there has dropped from around seven to only one -- and on some days there are none.  The commander of the 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment said many attacks have been prevented as a result of better intelligence and tips provided to Iraqi patrols or telephoned into a new Joint Coordination Center.

McMaster, who briefed reporters at the Pentagon January 27 via a videoconference link from Tal Afar, said enemy forces no longer have freedom of movement nor the safe haven they once had there.  With the security situation much improved, he said, life has returned to the town and many Iraqis who left the city in 2004 and 2005 have come back.

One sign of that new life is the reopening of the court system, according to McMaster.  The effort to re-establish Iraqi rule of law is under way, he said, although he conceded that it is a slow process.  “The judges are applying a standard consistent with what we consider due process of law,” he added.

The briefing official also said the reintroduction of a police force has meant bringing back a local investigative capability.  McMaster said 20 police investigators are now on hand and the town of Tal Afar also has hired two attorneys to prepare evidence and information for local court cases.

Asked how many Iraqi police really are needed in the region, McMaster said the numbers are not as important as their strength, resolve and ability to conduct independent operations.  Achieving that, he said, means developing junior leadership capabilities.

McMaster also said regional reconstruction programs are “immensely important,” including the rebuilding of police stations, which the coalition has been doing.   U.S. and coalition forces also are doing whatever they can to facilitate investment in the area, he added.

Investment might be spurred by the reconciliation effort that he said he has observed taking place between formerly opposing tribal and sectarian factions.

A transcript of McMaster’s remarks is available on the Defense Department Web site.

For additional information, see Iraq Update.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)