Crackdown Underway in Baghdad
BAGHDAD — American and Iraqi troops launched a large-scale security sweep in Baghdad this morning after a surprise 5 1/2 -hour visit to the Iraqi capital by President Bush on Tuesday.
Police and troops began installing checkpoints throughout the city and enforcing new security measures, including a weapons ban, as part of a crackdown intended to stem the blood bath in the capital.
Only Iraqi security forces and those with a license will be allowed to carry weapons on the street, although Iraqis will still be allowed to own one automatic weapon for their protection as long as it is kept at home, Maj. Gen. Abed Jassem of Iraq's Defense Ministry said at a news conference Tuesday.
The curfew will run from 8:30 p.m. to 6 a.m. for an indefinite period. A midday vehicle ban will be imposed from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays, when many people go to prayers.
The visit by Bush, who met with Iraqi government leaders and American troops in the tightly secured Green Zone, came at what U.S. and Iraqi officials hope is a crucial time.
In recent days, a new democratically elected government has taken shape, and the U.S. military killed Abu Musab Zarqawi, leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq.
But Baghdad is more violent than at any time since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein. At least 2,155 people died violently in the capital in May, government documents show. The new security plan is designed to stem the escalating shootings, bombings and kidnappings.
The plan was one of the topics discussed when Bush met with Prime Minister Nouri Maliki and his Cabinet at one of Hussein's ornate former palaces, which now serves as part of the U.S. Embassy.
"I've come not only to look you in the eye," Bush told Maliki, "I've also come to tell you that when America gives its word, it will keep its word. It's in our interest that Iraq succeeds."
"We have to defeat all the terrorists," Maliki said after the meeting. "God willing, all the suffering will be over and all the soldiers will return to their countries."
En route back to the U.S., Bush told reporters aboard Air Force One that Iraqi officials had expressed "concern about our commitment and keeping our troops there."
"There's a worry, almost to a person, that we will leave before they are capable of defending themselves," he said. "I assured them they didn't need to worry. I also made it clear that we want to work with their government on a way forward on all fronts."
