(4 Mar 2004)

1. General John Abizaid walks into Senate Armed Services Committee hearing room with Senator John Warner
2. Military leaders in hearing room
3. Committee members
4. SOUNDBITE: (English) General John Abizaid, US Commander in Iraq
"Certainly there are indications that, along with the professional terrorist groups such as Zarqawi, Ansar-al-Islam, al-Qaida, and others that are operating now in Iraq that some of this former regime element is cooperating with them."
5. Committee members
6.SOUNDBITE: (English) General John Abizaid, US Commander in Iraq
"In addition, we have foreign fighters that infiltrate in through various means. As you know, the borders are very long, and despite good efforts by the Iraqis and coalition forces, infiltration continues. Most continues to come from Syria into Iraq, although a certain amount also comes from Northern Iran into Iraq. But the number of actual foreign fighters that we continue to engage, capture, kill, etc, remains relatively low compared to the overall insurgent activity we see which is primarily Iraqi."
7. Committee members
8. SOUNDBITE: (English) General John Abizaid/US Commander in Iraq
"But I would say that there's no doubt that the nature of the terrorists' tactics have changed and the nature of the insurgency is changing. As they have become unsuccessful in operations against us, they have targeted what they believe the consider to be the key node, which is emerging Iraqi security capacity. So you will see a continuing attack profile against Iraqi police, Iraqi leadership, Iraqi civil defence corp units, etc., in the hope that by undermining the emerging Iraqi security capacity, they'll derail the process of moving towards an Iraqi transitional sovereign authority."
9. Committee members

STORYLINE:

There is a growing consensus among senior American officials that while Saddam Hussein loyalists remain a threat to the US effort to stabilise Iraq, the most lethal enemy is now a shadowy, hard-to-define web of foreign terrorists and Islamic extremists.

On Thursday, the top US commander in the Persian Gulf area, General John Abizaid, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that "foreign fighters" are continuing to infiltrate across the Syrian and Iranian borders.

Abizaid also said the threat in Iraq now "seems to be shifting toward extremists, and certainly there are indications that, along with the professional terrorist groups" like Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida, there are instances of collaboration between the extremists and Saddam loyalists.

The commander said the nature of the terrorists' tactics have also changed, noting that they are focusing more attacks on the emerging Iraqi security forces.

On Wednesday, Abizaid told the House Armed Services Committee that the United States has evidence that a Jordanian-born militant was behind this week's devastating suicide bombings in Iraq.

Other US officials said later they could not elaborate because the evidence is still "being developed."

The statement by Abizaid is the most direct assertion yet by a US official that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is carrying out on a terrorist campaign inside Iraq, as described in a letter purportedly written by al-Zarqawi and intercepted by US intelligence two months ago.

The letter outlined plans to attack Shiite religious sites to foment a civil war.

Abizaid also said terrorists have "gotten themselves established" in Iraq, and that al-Zarqawi in particular has made new links with members of the former Iraqi intelligence.


Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ] ​​
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]


You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]

свернуть