World

U.S.: Iraqi Forces Need Help

April 19, 2004 / 10:35 AM EDT / CBS/AP

The top U.S. administrator in Iraq says Iraqi security forces will not be ready by June 30th - the planned date for the transfer of power in Iraq - to protect their country against rebel forces.

That unusually blunt assessment from L. Paul Bremer appears aimed at defending a continued heavy presence of U.S. troops in Iraq even after an Iraqi government takes over.

"Iraq's democratic future is challenged by violent minorities. Groups old and new such as the Republican Guard, the Mukhabarat, the Fedayeen Saddam and the so-called Mahdi Army are trying to stop the process that leads to elections, to a government that respects the rights of all. They want to shoot their way to power," said Bremer.

"They must be dealt with," Bremer continued. "And they will be dealt with in a manner that reduces the loss of innocent blood to the minimum possible."

At the same time, Bremer said he believes "Iraq has a future of hope" - one of democracy, freedom of religion and "the nation's riches equitably shared among all Iraq's people."

Weekend battles in Iraq pushed the death toll for U.S. troops in April to 99, already the record for a single month in Iraq and approaching the number killed during the invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein last year.

In other recent developments:

Fallujah's civic leaders have joined American officials in calling on fighters in the city to turn in their weapons, and the U.S. military committed not to resume its offensive in the city if the arms surrender takes place, a U.S. spokesman said Monday.

There's been no word over the weekend on the condition of 20-year-old Matt Maupin, the first American soldier taken hostage in Iraq.

Spain's prime minister Sunday ordered the withdrawal of Spanish troops from Iraq as soon as possible, fulfilling a campaign promise made after terrorist bombings that al Qaeda militants said were reprisal for Spain's support of the war. The government of Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Monday criticized Spain's decision, saying it will encourage more insurgency.

Japan's prime minister says its troops will stay in Iraq despite mass protests to withdraw. Three Japanese hostages freed last week in Iraq by a group demanding Tokyo leave Iraq arrived Sunday in Japan.

U.S. forces are struggling to maintain control of Iraq's highways and guerrillas targeting key military supply lines. While the military does not face shortages, the attacks could hamper reconstruction efforts. Convoys have added more armed escorts, and the military closed a 42-mile section of the highway from Baghdad to Jordan and a 90-mile section of the route from Baghdad to Basra.

In Husaybah, near the Syrian border, insurgents ambushed a Marine patrol Saturday morning, sparking a battle throughout the day with up to 150 gunmen, Marine spokesman Lt. Eric Knapp said. Five Marines and up to 30 insurgents were killed, he said. Hospital officials said civilians were among the dead, as well as the town's police chief. The U.S. military's top general urged Damascus to do more to cut the flow of foreign fighters entering Iraq.

Five other troops were killed in combat and two others died in accidents over the weekend. Around 700 U.S. servicemen have died in Iraq since the war began.

Over the weekend, at least 40 Iraqis were killed, bringing the Iraqi death toll in April to more than 1,050.

Iraq's two main guerrilla fronts appeared "eerily quiet" on Monday, the U.S. military said, as residents of besieged Fallujah left their homes to shop and a rebel Shiite Muslim militia stuck to a cease-fire it called in the south.

The news from Fallujah was the first concrete statement to come out of direct negotiations between U.S. officials and a group of civic leaders and professionals from the city.

The Fallujah representatives are not directly connected with Sunni insurgents who have been battling U.S. troops in the city, but are thought to have influence with them.

The joint statement also outlines promises to improve the humanitarian situation in the besieged city and try to take the first steps to restore control by Iraqi security forces, said U.S. spokesman Dan Senor.

Maj. Gen. Mark Kimmitt warned that if the deal falls apart, Marines are prepared to attack and take the city quickly.

"It would appear there is an agreed political track," he told reporters. "There is also a very clear understanding …: that should this agreement not go through Marine forces are more than prepared to carry through with military operations" and could sieze Fallujah "in fairly short order."

The Army, meanwhile, said it was in no hurry to take the southern city of Najaf from Shiite followers of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The Army was beginning to rotate 2,500 soldiers from their position outside Najaf, replacing them with 2,000 seasoned troops from the force that has been occupying Baghdad for nearly a year.

Al-Sadr on Sunday called a two-day cease-fire to mark the anniversary of the death of the Prophet Muhammad. He also ordered a halt in all attacks on Spanish troops based in Najaf after Spain's prime minister decided to withdraw his country's forces.

Al-Sadr's office called on Iraqis to "maintain the safety of the Spanish forces until their return home" and urged "the governments of the other armies taking part in Iraq's occupation to follow the Spanish government's example."

Army shelling near the restive town of Baqouba Sunday night killed a family of four, when artillery pounded their farmhouse, said Nasir Kadhim, the mortuary director at Baqouba hospital.

U.S. officials have been rebuilding the Iraqi military from scratch, arranging the training of recruits. But the recent violence has shown the weaknesses and conflicted feelings of the armed forces.

An army battalion refused to join the Marines in the siege of Fallujah, saying they did not intend to fight fellow Iraqis. During the Shiite militia uprising in the south, many police abandoned their stations, realizing they were badly outgunned or sympathizing with the militia's cause.