*EPF502 11/19/2004
Defense Department Report, November 19: Iraq Operational Update
(Smith says actions are geared toward thwarting intimidation campaign) (540)

Army Lieutenant General Lance Smith says coalition and Iraqi military forces are doing everything possible to thwart an intimidation campaign that is under way in Iraq to keep Iraqis away from polling booths in January 2005.

Smith, who briefed reporters at the Defense Department November 19, said it will take a certain amount of courage by the Iraqi population to go out and vote, just as it took courage for the Afghans to exercise their right to vote in Afghanistan's presidential election.

Smith, who is deputy commander of the U.S. Central Command, acknowledged that acts of intimidation are occurring Iraq in the form of decapitations and kidnappings with increasing frequency, but said the coalition's goal is to provide an environment that is sufficiently secure and stable so that nationwide elections can take place on January 27, 2005.

"We will do everything in our power to try and hold elections in January," Smith said. The goal is to make it possible for everyone who wants to vote to do so, he added.

Smith also provided an operational update on the situation in the Iraqi city of Fallujah. There is still intense fighting going on in some parts of the city by jihadists that he said are willing to fight until the last man. Some of these insurgents, Smith said, are wearing vests packed with explosives and are detonating them as coalition forces go house-to-house in search of them. The coalition will persist until all the insurgents are gone, he said.

Smith said the insurgents' game plan has been severely disrupted in Fallujah. By systematically clearing the city, he said, insurgent leaders and their weapons are being destroyed. During 10 days of military operations in Fallujah, Smith said 91 weapons caches have been uncovered. He also said insurgents have lost access to large facilities used to make the improved explosive devices that have proved so deadly to military forces and civilians in Iraq.

Smith said the Fallujah operation has eliminated "a very significant safehaven" for the insurgency, denied the insurgents command-and-control capabilities in a central location, and killed a considerable number of them.

Asked about a command center that the coalition is examining that is thought to be associated with Abu Mussab Zarqawi, Smith said that the site looks like it will provide a "fairly significant treasure trove" of information and intelligence about the insurgency.

When asked about connections between Zarqawi and al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden, Smith said that he could not characterize the relationship been senior al-Qaida leaders and the Iraqi insurgency, but suggested that al-Qaida might provide a broad vision to the insurgents rather than directing tactical operations.

The deputy commander, who appeared before a closed session of the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier in the day, said coalition forces are taking precautious to make the city safe before allowing large numbers of humanitarian relief organizations into Fallujah.

When asked to analyze the effect of the Fallujah operation on the rest of Iraq, Smith would only say that the pressure is on the insurgents so they are unable to take control of another city elsewhere in the country.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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