Violence in Iraq declines, moves north

Analysis:

This story is based upon a Press Wire Service story that relied exclusively on comments from a US military commander in Iraq. The headline states that violence is down in Iraq, but the story provides no evidence to support that claim and there are some independent reports that contradict the Pentagon’s claim. The article does states that there were fewer roadside bombs placed by enemy combatants last month compared to June and quotes the US commander saying, “The attacks are still much higher than I would like here in the north, but they are continuing to decrease in numbers and scale of attacks.” The US commander claims that “militants have been pushed east to his area from Anbar by the so-called Awakening movement, in which local tribes have allied with the coalition against al-Qaida,” but this there is nothing other than US government Press to verify that claim.

The article then shifts to discuss updates on private military contractors and a recent shooting by an employee of Almco, which is based in Dubai. The story mentions the investigation of Blackwater and that “federal authorities have convened a grand jury to investigate the contractor shootings.” However,the article states that this is “according to sources familiar with the probe,” but never names those sources.

Story:

Despite a decline in violence in Iraq, northern Iraq has become more violent than other regions as al-Qaida and other militants move there to avoid coalition operations elsewhere, the region’s top U.S. commander said Monday.

Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling said al-Qaida cells still operate in all the key cities in the north. “What you’re seeing is the enemy shifting,” Hertling told Pentagon reporters in a video conference from outside Tikrit in northern Iraq.

Hertling said militants have been pushed east to his area from Anbar by the so-called Awakening movement, in which local tribes have allied with the coalition against al-Qaida. Others have been pushed north to his area from the Baghdad region, where this year’s U.S. troops escalation has made more operations possible.

“The attacks are still much higher than I would like here in the north, but they are continuing to decrease in numbers and scale of attacks,” he said.Hertling said 1,830 roadside bombs were placed in his region in June, compared with 900 last month.

The U.S. military says overall attacks in Iraq have fallen 55 percent since nearly 30,000 additional American troops arrived in Iraq by June, and some areas are experiencing their lowest levels of violence since the summer of 2005.

Meanwhile, a showdown appeared to loom over foreign security companies’ immunity from prosecution in Iraq as authorities arrested 43 people after guards protecting a convoy in Baghdad shot and wounded a woman Monday.

The incident was relatively minor compared with recent shootings; The worst, involving guards working for Blackwater USA, left 17 Iraqis dead in September.

The company involved in the latest incident, Almco, is based in Dubai and has contracts with the pentagon to provide some bases with essentials such as food, water, and tents, the military said.

In each incident, witnesses said the shootings were unjustified, but guards said they fired after perceiving they were under threat of attack.

In Washington, federal authorities have convened a grand jury to investigate the contractor shootings, according to sources familiar with the probe.