General petraeus to bring good news about iraq

Petraeus to bring 'good news' on Iraq Colin Freeman The Australian March 24, 2008 GENERAL David Petraeus, who leads the US military in Iraq, will report to Congress next month on his troop surge, in which almost 30,000 extra soldiers have been drafted into the five-year conflict. No one knows what he will say; not even President George Bush gets a preview. But the news is expected to be good or at least better than anything else that has come out of Iraq since the invasion. Violence overall is down about 60% on last year. Al-Qaeda is on the run, its former allies among Iraq's Sunni Muslims having turned against it. Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim militias are on a voluntary ceasefire, thanks to the cowing of their al-Qaeda enemies. And many ordinary Iraqis finally feel like things may be turning the corner. Mr Bush is upbeat and last week felt sufficiently confident to declare the "high cost in lives and treasure" had been worth it. One of the few people not talking things up is General Petraeus himself. "We don't talk turning points, there are no lights at the end of the tunnel, we don't do victory dances and we've moved the champagne to the back of the fridge," he said. Neither he nor his close colleague, US ambassador Ryan Crocker, was an optimist or a pessimist, he said. Washington plans to urge Britain to launch a surge in Basra to combat increasing violence in southern Iraq, Britain's Sunday Mirror reported yesterday. Britain, which has about 4100 troops in Iraq, transferred control to Iraqi forces in December, but it could now be asked to step up its role again, the paper said. It quoted an unnamed senior US military source saying: "Three big militias are currently engaged in a particularly bloody battle in southern Iraq. US and Iraqi forces are involved in a huge operation to attack an al-Qaeda stronghold in Mosul. "But after that, the plan is to turn the coalition's attention on to Basra and we will be urging the British to surge into the city. "If they do not have enough troops, then they will be offered US marines to help out." The good news for the Americans is exemplified by Fallujah and Ramadi, both former rebel strongholds in Anbar province west of Baghdad. They have symbolised everything that was wrong with Operation Iraqi Freedom. Both were home to large numbers of Saddam Hussein's fellow Sunnis, who turned against the occupation after his downfall. Fallujah's main road was where, in March 2004, four US security contractors were mutilated by a mob and hung from a bridge. But today Ramadi rivals Fallujah as one of the most peaceful cities in Iraq. "If you walk through markets in Ramadi, surprisingly, you will see that they are flourishing," General Petraeus said. "Fallujah, too, has sprung back to life. "The attack levels have gone to a level not consistently seen like this since 2005. That is not satisfactory, but it is significantly better than a year or so ago." TELEGRAPH, AFP KEY POINTS■Ordinary Iraqis feel like things might have turned the corner. ■Plan to turn coalition attention to Basra. ■Violence in Iraq is down about 60% on last year. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2008/03/23/1206206922843.html