WASHINGTON, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- A U.S. Army brigadier general says the violence in Iraq is at its lowest level since June 2006.
U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Richard Sherlock, deputy director for operational planning for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a Pentagon news briefing Thursday that the low levels of violence now seen in Iraq are a result of the sustained presence of coalition forces in former insurgent safe havens.
Sherlock also attributes the lowered violence levels to improved Iraqi security forces.
He said recent efforts have been from the bottom-up that are leading to success in Iraq's Anbar province. In similar commends recently made by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., Sherlock says that in order for the security situation to continue improving the military efforts need to be met with support and leadership from the Iraq central government.
“A lot of the events that have occurred in Anbar, I believe, are truly transformational events,” Sherlock said. “Looking at where Anbar was in January versus where it is today and then events as they’re starting to unfold in Diyala province and Baqubah, again I think they’re tremendous leaps forward.
"What we have to do and what the multinational force is trying to do is make sure that they are then tied and supported by the central government, so that that doesn’t become an issue in the future.”
Sherlock says that despite the Iraqi Security Forces casualties numbering three to four times the amount of coalition forces during operations, a sustained troop presence in areas formerly unsecured has been effective in disrupting potential insurgent activity.
