Baghdad
Three months after the start of the U.S. troop “surge” in Baghdad, coalition forces control fewer than one–third of the city’s neighborhoods, The New York Times reported this week. Citing commanders and an internal military report, the Times said American and Iraqi forces have “physical influence” over just 146 of Baghdad’s 457 neighborhoods. The problem, officers said, lies mainly with Iraqi police and army forces. Iraqi brigades remain understaffed and poorly trained, while police have been caught collaborating with Shiite militants. Once U.S. troops turn an area over to Iraqis, insurgents quickly return. “We are having to go back in and re–clear some areas,” said Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl. When the troop increase was being formulated, the Pentagon estimated that Baghdad would be calm by July—a goal since abandoned. “Slow progress is still progress,” Bleichwehl said.
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