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(回答先: ファルージャ治安部隊司令官に旧フセイン政権将校 [asahi.com] 【防衛隊将軍サレハ氏→情報将校ラティフ氏 】 投稿者 ひろ 日時 2004 年 5 月 04 日 00:57:00)
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U.S. in Falluja Turns to General Who Defied Saddam
Mon May 3, 2004 09:40 AM ET
By Joseph Logan
FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. Marines besieging Falluja brought in a former Iraqi general with a history of standing up to Saddam Hussein Monday to lead a force they have charged with putting down insurgency in the city.
After outrage among victims of the Baathist regime at their appointment of a former general in his feared Republican Guard, U.S. commanders have now turned to another ex-general, Mohammed Latif, to take overall command of the Falluja Brigade.
His predecessor, General Mohamed Jasim Saleh, told Reuters he was stepping aside after four days in the job.
U.S. casualties mount with the approach of a June 30 deadline for the handover of sovereignty to Iraqis. One U.S. soldier was killed and two were wounded by small arms fire south of Baghdad, the U.S. military said in a statement.
In Najaf, another flashpoint city, U.S. troops fired on suspected supporters of an anti-American Shi'ite cleric who attacked their base with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.
Two Iraqis, including a policeman, were killed and 15 were wounded outside the walls of the U.S. base, local medics said.
As U.S. commanders struggle to stamp out open rebellion in two cities and attacks that kill soldiers daily across Iraq, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he expected the U.N. to approve some form of multinational force to take over after the sovereignty handover.
General Latif would, if he passes further vetting, lead the Falluja Brigade, a senior U.S. military official said.
"As of tomorrow, I will have nothing to do with the Falluja Brigade," Saleh told Reuters.
NEW MAN IN FALLUJA
Unlike Saleh, a local man whom leaders of Iraq's Shi'ite Muslim majority accuse of taking part in the Republican Guard's bloody suppression of a Shi'ite uprising in 1991, Latif appears to have anti-Saddam credentials, U.S. military sources said.
An intelligence officer, trained in Britain, Latif was exiled and may also have spent time in prison, one said. He had been among a number of generals recently recalled by the new Iraqi defense ministry to try to reform the army as a whole.
But unlike Saleh, Latif hails from Baghdad, 30 miles to the east, which may not endear him so easily to local people.
Loyal to Saddam, Falluja has become a focus for anger among his Sunni minority since Marines mounted a siege a month ago in which hundreds of people were killed. They have yet to dislodge insurgents, many of whom appear to be drawn from the local community and enjoy wide acceptance among the population.
Marine officers concede that some of the Falluja Brigade may well be drawn from the very guerrillas they have been fighting.
The arrival of Saleh's force of several hundred uniformed ex-soldiers on the streets Saturday and the withdrawal of Marines from some siege positions to areas further from the city limits was greeted by delighted townsfolk, including masked gunmen, as victory for the Sunni guerrillas over American arms.
Whatever Latif's credentials, it remains to be seen whether the Falluja Brigade can deliver on U.S. demands that it crush some 2,000 rebels and root out perhaps 200 foreign militants. A U.S. officer said many foreigners may already have escaped.
Marines remained in positions on the edge of town closest to areas in the north where fighting has been heaviest and their commanders say they are ready to storm guerrillas at any time.
"By no measure do we consider the Falluja campaign over," a senior U.S. military official said in Baghdad.
Falluja Brigade members directed traffic in the town on Monday as local residents pointed to cars they said were full of guerrillas on patrol. Families were still burying relatives pulled from the rubble of buildings destroyed in U.S. bombing.
One headstone bearing the word "Spies" marked the grave of seven people accused of helping the Americans, residents said.
HEAVY LOSSES
Aside from quelling irritation at Saleh's role in Falluja, Washington has also been trying to counter damage done by the broadcast of photographs showing U.S. soldiers abusing prisoners at Saddam's once notorious Abu Ghraib prison.
Seven officers and non-commissioned officers were disciplined over the affair, the senior military official said Monday. Six other soldiers are facing criminal charges.
After April became the bloodiest month for U.S. troops in Iraq with 129 combat deaths, the U.N. appeared to offer help.
Annan said a resolution being considered by Washington could authorize a multinational force after June 30: "It's in everybody's interest to do whatever we can to stabilize Iraq."
Heavy losses and the difficulties in places like Falluja have not helped Bush's re-election campaign.
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