IRAQ: COALITION CHIEF PAUL BREMER PRAISES PROGRESS IN SECURITY IRAQ DESPITE TWIN ATTACKS
Record ID:
648579
IRAQ: COALITION CHIEF PAUL BREMER PRAISES PROGRESS IN SECURITY IRAQ DESPITE TWIN ATTACKS
- Title: IRAQ: COALITION CHIEF PAUL BREMER PRAISES PROGRESS IN SECURITY IRAQ DESPITE TWIN ATTACKS
- Date: 11th October 2003
- Summary: (U6) BAGHDAD, IRAQ (OCTOBER 9, 2003) (REUTERS) 1. MV CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE COALITION IN IRAQ PAUL BREMER AND GOVERNING COUNCIL PRESIDENT AYAD ALAWI WALKING TOWARDS THE SITE WHERE SADDAM'S STATUE WAS PULLED DOWN AND THEN LATER REPLACED BY AN ARTIST GROUP'S STATUE; MV BREMER AND ALAWI AT THE STATUE; MV BREMER AND ALAWI WALKING AWAY (4 SHOTS) 0.25 2. LAS TILT DOWN NEW STATUE 0.34 3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BREMER SAYING "(We) watched Saddam's statue being pulled down from here six months ago today. Of course, I didn't realise that I would be here six months later with the President of the Governing Council but it was a very exciting moment for lovers of freedom the world over and as Doctor Alawi has pointed out, one of the most dramatic moments in Iraq's history." 0.53 4. SLV US SOLDIERS AND BREMER LEAVING; LAS STATUE 1.06 (U6) BAGHDAD, IRAQ (OCTOBER 9, 2003) (REUTERS) 5. SLV EXTERIOR UNIDENTIFIED MOSQUE 1.12 6. SLV PAUL BREMER, COALITION CHIEF AT NEWS CONFERENCE; MV MEDIA 1.21 7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BREMER SAYING "Six months ago today coalition forces liberated Baghdad. I am sure that many of you were as thrilled as I was to see Saddam's statue and his regime fall on that day. But and most of what's happened since then and not all of it has been good." 1.41 8. SLV MEDIA 1.46 9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BREMER SAYING "At the time of liberation, there were no police on duty in Iraq. Today there are over forty thousand police on duty, nearly seven thusand here in Baghdad alone. Last night coalition forces and Iraqi police conducted one thusand seven hundred and thirty one joint patrols." 2.07 10. REPORTERS 2.11 11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BREMER SAYING "Well I think we always anticipated that we would face, as has been the case in every post-war situation that I'm aware of since the second World War, that we would face resistance and we have faced that resistance and we will deal with it. It does not the attacks on the coalition, uh ninety percent of them take place in about 5 percent of the country, they pose no strategic threat to the coalition or its forces" 2.39 12. REPORTERS 2.44 13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BREMER SAYING "The coalition is well aware of the sensitivitieS involved in the question of foreign troops in Iraq and we share the vision of the Governing Council and many Iraqis that we should move as quickly as possible to put Iraqis in a major position of defending their own country." 3.08 14. REPORTERS LEAVING 3.17 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 26th October 2003 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BAGHDAD, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Reuters ID: LVA3CO6MLEQ70NVDGKAPAXQJ2UAB
- Story Text: Coalition chief Paul Bremer praises the coalition's
progress in securing Iraq despite twin attacks in Baghdad.
The head of the US-led coalition in Iraq Paul Bremer
was joined on Thursday (October 9, 2003) by Governing Council
President Ayad Alawi at the site of Saddam Hussein's
statue, in the heart of Baghdad, pulled down by the people
of Iraq shortly after US forces entered the city in April,
to commemorate six months since the fall of the regime.
Bremer invited the media to the event so as to pass on
his personal message about why the US forces entered the
city in the first place.
"We watched Saddam's statue being pulled down from here
six months today. Of course I didn't realise that I would
be here six months later with the President of the
Governing Council but it was a very exciting moment for
lovers of freedom the world over and as Doctor Alawi has
pointed out, one of the most dramatic moments in Iraq's
history," he said.
During a news conference later in the day he listed the
progress of the coalition forces in Iraq on a day when a
suicide bomber killed eight people at a police station and
a Spanish diplomat was shot dead outside his home.
Bremer did compare the coalition's achievements with
those of the previous regime.
"At the time of liberation, there were no police on
duty in Iraq. Today there are over 40,000 police on duty,
nearly 7,000 here in Baghdad alone. Last night coalition
forces and Iraqi police conducted 1,731 joint patrols," he
told the press conference.
Although Bremer admitted there was still some way to go
before the country could be safe, he downplayed the latest
attacks saying they did not pose a threat to the coalition.
"I think we always anticipated that we would face, as
has been the case in every post-war situation that I'm
aware of since the second World War, that we would face
resistance and we have faced that resistance and we will
deal with it. The attacks on the coalition.. ninety percent
of them take place in about five percent of the country.
They pose no strategic threat to the coalition or its
forces," he said.
Bremer also passed on his condolences to the family of
the Spanish diplomat, shot dead earlier in the day outside
his house.
But the smiles shared between Bremer and the Governing
Council President around the statue hid a the deepest rift
between the council and the U.S. administration which
failed to resolve their most serious dispute to date on
Thursday over plans to deploy Turkish troops to help
stabilise the country.
The United States, facing mounting casualties in Iraq,
wants Turkey, the only mainly Muslim member of NATO, to
send up to 10,000 troops as soon as possible following
Tuesday's vote in the Turkish parliament in favour of
deployment.
But members of the Governing Council say they will not
agree to any soldiers from neighbouring countries being
stationed on Iraqi soil.
Bremer brushed aside references to the rift saying
Washington was aware of how thorny an issue it was.
"The coalition is well aware of the sensitivities
involved in the question of foreign troops in Iraq and we
share the vision of the Governing Council and many iraqis
that we should move as quickly as possible to put Iraqis in
a major position of defending their own country," he said.
The Council said in a statement it met officials in the
U.S.-led administration on Thursday to discuss the issue.
Washington handpicked 25 council members from Iraq's
ethnic and religious factions in July. One councillor was
assassinated by gunmen last month.
Although the Governing Council has responsibility for
overseeing a new constitution for Iraq, final say on policy
rests with U.S. governor Paul Bremer. But if the Council
issues a formal statement opposing Turkish troops, it would
be harder for Washington to persuade Iraqis to accept them.
The issue of Turkish troops in Iraq is a thorny one
because of the hostility of Iraq's Kurds towards Ankara.
Iraq was also part of the Ottoman Empire for centuries.
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