Iraqi Government fighting violence

Iraq's governmental leaders are rising to confront "an array of complicated issues" amid a spike in insurgent violence, a senior U.S. military officer said Oct. 19. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki recently announced the formation of a special committee to address the country's illegal militia issue, Caldwell said.
The Iraqi Government, he added, is also seeking to reform its Security Ministries. In fact, the Iraqi Government reassigned a number of leaders of the National Police on Oct. 16.
"Although the leadership at the division level has changed, the National Police continued to prove itself as a capable, and viable civil force," Caldwell said.
Caldwell commended the Iraqi Military and Police efforts in combating the insurgency. The Iraqi Security Force is finding "a good number" of weapons caches throughout Iraq. That's because Iraqi forces are knowledgeable about their areas of operation, Caldwell said, and are growing in size and professionalism.
Caldwell cited a recent joint Iraqi and U.S. Marine operation in Anbar province resulting in the detention of more than 35 suspected insurgents and the discovery of thousands of hidden weapons.
More than 312,000 Iraqi Soldiers and Police have been trained and equipped by the Coalition Force.
Caldwell pointed to the Iraqi government's recruiting plan to bring more than 30,000 new Iraqi troops to serve in troublesome Anbar province by May. In February, 3,800 Iraqi Police worked out of 14 active Iraqi Police stations in three of the nine districts in Anbar province, Caldwell said. Today, there are 33 police stations operating in eight districts, he noted, with more than 8,000 trained Iraqi Police.
Caldwell acknowledged there's been an increase in insurgent violence since the start of Ramadan in late September That goal "is achievable," Caldwell emphasized, "with a combination of both tough security measures by coalition and Iraqi Security Forces and a political process that recognizes that 11 to 12 million Iraqis voted for a unity government."