WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- The admiral nominated to head U.S. Central Command said the plan to embed U.S. military units in Baghdad police stations is inherently dangerous.
But it is necessary, said Adm. William Fallon, the head of U.S. Pacific Command who is nominated to take over U.S. Central Command from Army Gen. John Abizaid.
"Clearly there is going to be increased risk in this area," Fallon told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. "But there is a significant body of evidence that indicates ... to be successful in this endeavor (a counter-insurgency) you have had to get in among the population to convince them you really care about them, and are able to provide security on-scene rather than just passing through an area.
"It seems pretty obvious to me that what we have been doing has not been working," Fallon said.
A week after four U.S. troops were abducted and murdered by a small group of insurgents who were allowed through an Iraqi-guarded checkpoint to attack government building in Karbala, the plan to distribute U.S. forces among 30 police stations in the violent capital is raising concerns on Capitol Hill. A fifth soldier was killed on the scene and three were wounded.
Fallon said the new Iraq security plan mirrors in several ways the apparently effective counter-insurgency effort in the Philippines.
"It involves being downrange with the armed forces ... it involves getting our people in front of the population (which) is an essential part of security," he said.
He acknowledged that security in Iraq is much worse than in the Philippines.
"The situation is not nearly as dangerous in (the Philippines) as it is in Baghdad," Fallon said.
