U.S. General Admits Increased Violence in Northern Iraq

Washington, D.C., May 11 (EIRNS)--While trying to put a positive spin on events, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, commander of US forces in northern Iraq, freely admitted to reporters at the Pentagon that in some parts of his area of responsibility, particularly Diyala Province, the level of violence has gone up since the beginning of the surge of US troops into Baghdad. He attributed the higher level of violence to an increase in the operations tempo of US troops in Diyala and the movement of both Sunni and Shia insurgents into the province, as well as into Salahuddin province, from Baghdad. He also said that while the number of attacks as not increased in other provinces, there have been more spectacular attacks and a greater number of attacks on civilians. Mixon also said that he doesn't have enough troops to deal with the situation in Diyala, which he had described as "very difficult," but that Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the overall commander of US troops, has been providing additional troops as they become available. There are about 3,500 US troops in Diyala, along with about 10,000 Iraq troops.

Mixon also described governance in Diyala as "nonfunctional." He said that the provincial government failed to execute its 2006 budget, it is unable to achieve a quorum in the provincial council and is unable to provide basic services. He attributed many of the problems with governance and the Iraqi security forces to the government in Baghdad, where everything is centralized in the ministries which move too slowly to provide the support that the provinces need.