The top commander of American and international troops in Iraq said Sunday he is establishing an Iraqi "civil defense force," or armed militia, of about 6,800 men to help US forces.
Gen. John Abizaid, the commander of U.S. Central Command, said he will establish eight battalions of armed Iraqi militiamen, each with about 850 men. They will be trained by conventional U.S. forces and are expected to be ready to begin operating within 45 days, he said.
Abizaid predicted that resistance to U.S. forces in Iraq will grow in coming months as progress is made in creating a new government.
Abizaid said that the establishment earlier this month of a Governing Council of Iraqi political leaders was a good first step that improves the outlook for getting the country back on its feet.
"But in the short run it creates great anxiety among our enemies, and they'll increase the level of resistance," Abizaid said. "So I'm enormously optimistic about our opportunity for success, as long as we don't lose our nerve."
According to AP, Abizaid was speaking with a small group of reporters over lunch at a Baghdad hotel. He was joined at the lunch by Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy secretary of defense, who has made a point of insisting that the attackers not be called "resistance."
He said they should be called "forces of reaction" whose sole aim is to restore Saddam to power and thereby regain the positions of privilege and power they enjoyed in the old regime. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
