Tuesday's explosion was the worst single attack on the US forces since
the invasion in March last year, and has thrown Pentagon officials and
the defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, on to the defensive, on
account of their apparent failure to protect the US troops in Iraq
adequately.

http://www.mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-InternationalNews&ao=177140

Insurgents operate at will in Mosul, US says

24 December 2004

Insurgents have been able to "operate at will" in Mosul, where 22
people died in a bomb attack this week, because the United States
forces and the Iraqi authorities have failed to tackle them, an
intelligence assessment by senior US officials in northern Iraq
concludes.

The report, seen by The Guardian on Thursday, was drafted before this
week's suicide attack on the mess tent at Camp Merez.

It was made after the uprising last month, when most of Mosul's police
force either deserted or defected and parts of the city fell, albeit
briefly, to the insurgents.

It does not specifically mention threats to US bases, but it
catalogues a series of errors and missed opportunities in intelligence
gathering, recruitment to the Iraqi security forces, and operational
issues.

Its assessments and recommendations reflect many of the concerns
expressed in briefings of The Guardian recently by General Carter Ham,
the US commanding officer in Mosul, and senior Iraqi officials in the
city.

Tuesday's explosion was the worst single attack on the US forces since
the invasion in March last year, and has thrown Pentagon officials and
the defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, on to the defensive, on
account of their apparent failure to protect the US troops in Iraq
adequately.

General Richard Myers, the chairperson of the joint chiefs of staff,
said on Wednesday that a suicide bomber had probably strapped an
explosive device to his body and entered the metal and canvas dining
hall where the explosion occurred.

The attacker may have had knowledge of the base's layout and the
meal-time schedules.

The military authorities said on Wednesday that they had begun
re-examining the security measures at bases throughout Iraq.

"We always have force protection keeping their eyes out," Lieutenant
Colonel Paul Hastings, the spokesperson for the US forces in Mosul,
told reporters.

"For somebody that wants to take his life and kill himself -- it's
very difficult to stop those people."

Ansar al-Sunna, a militant Sunni Islamist group, claimed
responsibility for the attack, saying it had infiltrated a suicide
bomber into the base.

The ability of insurgent groups to penetrate the Iraqi security forces
in many areas of the Sunni triangle has been a major source of concern
for US forces.

After the November violence in Mosul a former chief of police in the
city was arrested by Kurdish officials on suspicion of handing over
police stations to insurgents.

Since then there has been a spate of murders in and around the city of
members of the Iraqi national guard, their killers apparently acting
on inside information.

But Iraqis also enter US bases as employees of civilian contractors
providing services such as laundry, catering, and refuse collection.

Jeremy Redmon, a reporter from the Richmond Times-Dispatch embedded
with the troops at the Mosul base, told CNN on Thursday that Iraqi
workers had to show identification to get in but could then move with
relative freedom.

The intelligence assessment suggests there was a lack of rigour in the
vetting procedures for posts in the Iraqi security forces.

It says:

"The US military and Iraqi government should have been aware of the
history of persons they appointed to positions."

The lack of effective action by the interim Iraqi government "left the
door open for the terrorist groups to work freely in secure areas", it
says, adding that better vetting is essential.

"Each appointment must be seriously reviewed."

The report outlines the scale of the problem facing the US and Iraqi
authorities as they try to maintain order in the city before the
general election.

It says Mosul is a candidate to become an alternative to Falluja.

"They [the militants] have enough supporters there who can hide them,
and also the Syrian border is close."

It says that many residents are buying weapons in preparation for the
next outbreak of violence and that it is vital for the interim
government to build trust with -- and spend money on -- the people of
Mosul and for the US forces to treat them with respect.

At least three US marines were killed in renewed fighting in Falluja
on Thursday as refugees from the original US assault on the city began
returning to their homes.

The US forces bombed and shelled suspected insurgent positions.

Some of the estimated 250 000 people who fled the city queued at Iraqi
police checkpoints to show their documents before returning to the
remains of bombed and looted houses, some of which still contain the
bodies of those killed in recent weeks.

___________________________________________________________

What exactly was it that Bush initially told Congress and the American
people this war is about?

Harry