By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer 29 minutes ago
Upbeat on what could be his final visit to Iraq before retiring, the top U.S. general said Tuesday that parts of Iraq are undergoing a "sea change" in improved security.
Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, took some people in war-battered Ramadi by surprise during a sandstorm that kept his helicopter grounded and gave him extra hours to tour.
He was driven down streets that U.S. soldiers had called "The Gauntlet" and "The Racetrack" before the combination of a U.S. offensive and new Sunni Arab tribal alliances against al-Qaida in Iraq brought a remarkable, if uncertain, peace to this provincial capital.
Pace told two reporters accompanying him that his unplanned interlude, which included a chat with Mayor Latif Eyada, reinforced his sense of optimism about the U.S. troop buildup, which is focused mainly on Baghdad but includes Ramadi and other areas of Anbar province.
Accompanied by teams of soldiers and security guards, Pace strolled past street-side fruit and vegetable stands, stopping now and then to shake hands with smiling children and to chat with shopkeepers on an afternoon in which he was about the only shopper in sight.
"To them, the hard work of getting rid of al-Qaida is done," Pace said. "Now they want to get on with their lives."
Earlier in the day Pace met with U.S. commanders in Baghdad, as well as Marine Maj. Gen. Walter Gaskin, who is responsible for all of Anbar province, and Army Col. John Charlton, whose 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division has ushered in the changes in Ramadi and environs.
"What I'm hearing right now is a sea change that's taken place in many places here, that it's no longer a matter of pushing al-Qaida out of Ramadi, for example but rather, now that they have been pushed out, helping the local police and local army have a chance to get their feet on the ground," he said.
Security has improved in parts of Iraq in the past few months — since the increase in U.S. troops in Baghdad and as some Sunni tribes and armed insurgents have turned against al-Qaida.
But there are fears that these Sunni groups may not remain loyal to the Shiite-led Iraqi government, which has a deep distrust of them. Also, there are concerns that Iraqi police and the army won't be able to maintain security and consolidate areas retaken from insurgents.
There is still much violence in Iraq. Just Tuesday, a car bomb exploded across the street from the Iranian Embassy in the heart of Baghdad and killed four civilians.
Pace said on Monday that he and the Joint Chiefs of Staff would give President Bush their recommendation in September on whether to continue the troop buildup or to change course.
Gaskin and Charlton accompanied Pace in a convoy of armored Humvees and a mine-resistant truck known as a Cougar that rumbled through quiet, nearly deserted streets, past piles of rubble, abandoned buildings and scenes of destruction that evoked images of recent heavy fighting that has virtually leveled some neighborhoods.
What changed things here, as U.S. commanders describe it, was a decision by local Sunni tribal leaders to turn against al-Qaida and to collaborate with U.S. forces to establish a local government.
Mayor Eyada greeted Pace inside his modest office and credited U.S. forces for bringing peace to his city.
Apologizing for not having lunch to offer on Pace's unscheduled visit, the mayor said locals are now volunteering to join the police force, which previously was intimidated by al-Qaida. And, he said, the community is beginning to believe that the changes could be lasting.
"It's a fact that people start to sense and see every day," he said through an interpreter. "To put it simply, people were jailed in their own homes," before al-Qaida was evicted. "Now it's totally different."
He did have one request of Pace: push the Iraqi central government to reimburse Ramadi residents for the damage to their homes and property from the fighting that raged until about March.
In an interview, Charlton said indications of the change in Ramadi include that it has not seen a roadside bomb attack in more than two months and attacks of all kinds are down to about one per day. As recently as February, when Charlton's brigade began operating in Ramadi, there were 157 roadside bomb attacks in the city and surrounding areas. In July 2006 there were 334.
"All these trends are still very, very positive," he said. "The level of violence has gone down and stayed down. Now, that doesn't mean that al-Qaida has given up.
Gaskin, in a separate interview, also expressed concern that the fight over Ramadi may not be over.
"We see all the time, based on intelligence intercepts, that al-Qaida would like to come back into the city of Ramadi," Gaskin said. "We have made it a point to be ready for them if they try."
Although Pace has said he plans to make another trip to Iraq before he retires Oct. 1, it was clear during his question-and-answer sessions with troops Tuesday that the end of a 40-year career is very much on his mind.
"It's been an incredible journey for me," he said after officiating at a re-enlistment ceremony for soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division in Baghdad. "I'm getting close to the end of my time."
Because of the sandstorm that blew in shortly after he arrived in Ramadi, Pace had to cancel plans to fly to Camp Speicher, near the north-central city of Tikrit, where he had planned to review the situation with Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, who commands all of northern Iraq.