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Iraq mission is changing from combat to construction
Tuesday, 01 January 2008
Beginning Jan. 1, 2008, the Division will shift its focus to capacity building. However, security will always be the number-one mission, and we must continue to make safety and security our first priority without being risk averse. We will take the fight to enemy every single day between now and when we redeploy.
Our Vanguard Brigade Combat Team is in the middle of a tough fight in Kidhr with operation MARNE ROUNDUP, and next month our Falcon Combat Aviation Brigade and our Spartan Brigade Combat Team will team up to take the fight to enemy in operation MARNE THUNDERBOLT.
But we cannot afford to solely focus on security – we must attack all lines of operation with equal vigor. Multi- National Division – Center has conducted seven division-level operations and constructed five patrol bases in coordination with those operations.
This counterinsurgency fight cannot be won by us, but by the Iraqi people – and that is why it is important to build these patrol bases. Once we clear an area and move in, the Iraqis know we are there to stay. And for those of you who already live among Iraqis, you know that once they understand you are going to stay with them, they are quick to bring you information. Together, you move forward to establish security.
But with security there must be stability, and we are going to help the Iraqis open shops, schools, health clinics, etc. And we must help them govern themselves. As a result of the Concerned Local Citizens programs, CLC headquarters and new local government centers are opening, and battalions and brigades are working hard to link those leaders into the nahia and qada councils. At Division, we are committed to bringing the provincial leaders to your areas so Iraqis know their voices are heard, and so the government of Iraq is helping to open the clinics, install the street lights, and transition CLCs into the Iraqi Security Forces.
We’re also working governance and economics at the higher levels. In Iskandariyah, a cell from the Division is working to develop the Iskandariyah Industrial Complex. At its height, the complex employed 36,000 Iraqis but now only employs 1,200 Iraqis. If we can help the owner get his business off the ground again, thousands of Iraqis will not turn to IED emplacement as a source of income.
We are also working microgrants hard, and many of you are the ones making this happen. In Jurf as Sakhr, the Division’s strategic model community, $14,000 helped to open 48 shops in less than a month. And success stories like this are flourishing all over the battlefield. Communities that are both secure and stable are communities that take ownership of themselves. These are the communities that will not tolerate violence and the communities that will not harbor terrorists.
There is nothing more important than the security of our Soldiers, but as we enter 2008, we cannot move ahead without developing communities and empowering Iraqis to solve their own problems.
ROCK OF THE MARNE!
