OPERATION TOGETHER FORWARD

OPERATION TOGETHER FORWARD

Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs

703.697.6210

IRAQ UPDATE

September 27, 2006

1st Lt. Alfred L. Butler, IV

USMC

Jacksonville, North Carolina

Bronze Star recipient

Total number of trained and equipped Iraqi Security Force personnel exceeds 300,000.

POLICE

At the end of 2004, there were almost 73,000 trained and equipped Ministry of Interior forces; today there are approximately 172,000, which includes over 120,000 "beat cops" and all 27 National Police battalions.

185 Police Transition Teams comprised of 6,000 Coalition Force troops and 600 International Police Liaison Officers (IPLO) are embedded with local Iraqi Police at station, district and provincial levels while 39 National Police Transition Teams (NPTT) consisting of 450 Coalition Forces and 32 IPLOs work with the National Police.

MILITARY

On September 3, 2006 saw the Iraq Joint Headquarters assume operational control of the Iraqi Navy, Air Force and the Iraqi Ground Forces Command (IGFC).

The IGFC currently has operational control of two Iraqi Army Division Headquarters - the 8th IA Division and the 4th IA Division. More divisions will follow throughout the year.

The Iraqi Army currently has 10 combat division headquarters.

KEY STATISTICS

Iraqi led operations in Baghdad from August 7th – September 22nd, 2006:

Cleared more than 85,000 buildings

Found more than 35 weapons caches

Seized more than 1,500 weapons

Registered more than 780 weapons

Detained 114 Anti-Iraqi Forces

Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) outnumber Coalition forces 3 to 1. ISF carries the preponderance of the responsibilities in Baghdad.

Coalition Forces = 15,400

Iraqi Army = 9,600

Iraqi National Police = 12,700

Iraqi Police = 22,400

Total = 60,100

1st Lt. Butler and his team were conducting operations in Fallujah, Iraq, on Dec. 23, 2004, when insurgents ambushed his platoon.

Butler raced to the attack where several men in a house were taking heavy automatic weapons fire. He evacuated the men from a house under intense fire, and then organized an assault force to confront the insurgents who were pinning down additional men on the second floor.

Jumping roof to roof, Butler and his team cleared two buildings under fire to retrieve the other men. Butler disregarded his own safety and shielded the bodies of fallen Marines when a grenade landed nearby.

For his actions, Butler was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device for his actions.

HERO IN THE GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORSECURITY

PROVINCIAL IRAQI CONTROL IRAQI RECONSTRUCTION IRAQI’S IN THE LEADProvincial Iraqi Control (PIC) has occurred in two provinces:

Muthanna PIC occurred on 13 July.

Dhi Qar PIC occurred on 21 Sept.

Dhi Qar, with its 1.8 million residents, has three times the population as Muthanna.

There will be other transfers of responsibility in other provinces, as directed by Prime Minister Maliki.

From January 2005, to the present, more than 630 foreign fighters have been captured from over 25 different countries within Iraq.

Today, there are approximately 370 foreign fighters in captivity.

During August, there were approximately 40 foreign fighters killed or captured, most of these being killed in operations in Iraq.

Egyptians, Syrians, Sudanese, and Saudi nationals are the most prevalent foreign fighters that we have captured or killed during that time period.

FOREIGN FIGHTERS

In October ’05, the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) had 1 division, 4 brigades, and 23 battalions that controlled areas of responsibility.

In September ’06, the ISF has 6 division headquarters (HQ), 26 brigades HQs, and 88 battalions that control their own areas of responsibility.

Dhi Qar Province

Baghdad Province

Meeting the needs of the Iraqi people is key to defeating the insurgency of Iraq. Here are some examples of projects enhancing the lives of Iraqis:

TRANSPORTATION:

The $7.1 million Baghdad International Airport rehabilitation project was completed in late August.

Currently, there’s an average of 73 commercial flights serving Iraqis on a daily basis.

GOVERNMENT:

Iraq has made great advances in promoting a decentralized government starting in June 2004. By June 2006, Iraq had 18 governance councils, in addition to 90 district councils, 194 city or sub-districts councils, and 437 neighborhood councils.

ECONOMY:

33,384 new Iraqi businesses have been registered since 2003.

77% of Iraqi businessmen anticipate growth in the national economy over the next two years.

Muthanna Province