WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2008 – The tables have turned for al Qaeda in northern Iraq, as a surge of operations there in the new year has put terrorists on the run looking for new places to hide, a commander in the region said today.
“A year ago, we were often reacting to al Qaeda and what they were going to do,” Hertling said. “Now, I think the tables have turned, and they are attempting to react to where we’re going to go next. And that’s a critical difference.”
About 15,000 local people have signed up as concerned local citizens under a program that allows them to assist with the security effort.
“As things begin to develop and we get more and more into the ‘hold’ and the eventual ‘build’ stage, coalition forces will begin to leave,” the general said. “As the Iraqi police stand up more and more capability, the Iraqi army will begin to leave and the police will be left, along with local citizens, in securing the inside of town.”http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48730
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