Major General Rick Lynch Holds a Defense Department News Briefing

Extract

---

Major General Rick Lynch Holds a Defense Department News Briefing

GENERAL LYNCH HOLDS A DEFENSE DEPARTMENT NEWS BRIEFING, BAGHDAD, IRAQ

MARCH 23, 2006

SPEAKER: MAJOR GENERAL RICK LYNCH, SPOKESMAN, MULTINATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ

[*] (JOINED IN PROGRESS) LYNCH: ... fact that what's significantly different today is the fact that there are 241,000 trained and equipped members of the Iraqi security force working operations across Iraq. And that is 75 percent of the desired end state for the Iraqi security force. And those units are in the fight and on the streets as we speak.

And what I continue to be amazed with is the number of operations, company level and above, that are planned and executed and led by the Iraqi security forces. And we're at the point now where a third of the operations during that reporting period were independent Iraqi security force operations. And less than 28 percent were independent coalition force operations: 512 company-level operations across Iraq during that reporting period.

The enemy's still out there and the enemy still has a stated objective: derail the democratic process and discredit the Iraqi government.

And we're in a specifically vulnerable period right now as the national unity government forms, and he continues to conduct operations to inflame sectarian violence and drive a wedge between the Iraqi population.

Of note, he continues to target civilians: 75 percent increase in casualties during this operational period. We're at the point now where if you look at the casualties across Iraq as a result of the operations, 65 percent of them are civilians -- innocent Iraqi men, women and children 65 percent, 20 percent are members of the Iraqi security force, and 15 percent members of the coalition force.

So the enemy is still out there and he still has an aim: discredit the Iraqi governme...

See the full content of this document

---