The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers, says it is important that the Sunni population in Iraq be brought into the political process to help defeat the violent insurgency and rebuild the country.
General Myers told reporters at the Pentagon that the winning strategy in Iraq is to continue fighting the insurgency to create an environment that will allow the political process to move forward.
America's top general added Iraq's Sunni population, which held political power during the reign of Saddam Hussein and is considered the main source behind the insurgency, needs to believe it has a positive future.
"People are working very hard to make sure the Sunnis do see a political future in Iraq and a future for them," said General Myers, "and that is very important, I think, to progress on all fronts, economic, and security and so forth, it is very important."
General Myers' remarks came as Iraq's political leaders continue to negotiate details of a new constitution with the hope that proposed compromises will lead to at least some support within the Sunni population.
The general said such support will help convince more people to reject the insurgency and support the Iraqi government.
"Sunni inclusion in the political process is going to help with this insurgency," he said, "because the fence sitters [people who are undecided] will see their future with the new Iraq and not with the old Saddam Hussein regime or whatever the cause is."
Iraqis are currently scheduled to vote on a new constitution in October, and during a separate briefing a senior U.S. commander in the country said there is growing confidence that the referendum and elections scheduled for December will be successful.
But Army Major General Joseph Taluto also predicted violence will increase in Sunni-dominated areas as the election approaches.
"We expect that the enemies will increase their attacks, particularly as we run up to the referendum," he said. "The divergent groups all have their own strategies and they select a time for these attacks. But they go up and then we will have a week or two where the attacks will go down, and they seem to re-arm themselves and then re-attack."
When asked why the U.S.-led military coalition has been unable thus far to defeat the insurgents, General Taluto said progress is being made and it is not widely recognized that troops stop many attacks before they can be executed.美国参谋长联席会议主席理查德·迈尔斯(Richard Myers)说,重要的是要把伊拉克逊尼派人口纳入政治进程,帮助打败暴力叛乱和重建国家。
迈尔斯将军在五角大楼告诉记者说,伊拉克的制胜战略是继续打击叛乱,创造一个让政治进程前进的环境。
美国最高的将军补充说,伊拉克的逊尼派人口在萨达姆统治时期掌握着政治权力,被认为是叛乱背后的主要根源,需要相信它有一个积极的未来。
迈尔斯将军说:“人们正在努力确保逊尼派确实看到了伊拉克的政治未来和他们的未来。我认为,这是非常重要的,要在各个方面,经济和安全方面取得进展,如此,这是非常重要的。“
迈尔斯将军的言论随着伊拉克政治领导人继续谈判新宪法的细节,希望提议的妥协将导致逊尼派人口中的至少一些支持。
将军说,这种支持有助于说服更多的人反对叛乱,支持伊拉克政府。
他说:“逊尼派在政治进程中的参与将有助于这场叛乱,因为篱笆保卫者(未决定的人)将看到他们的未来与新的伊拉克而不是旧的萨达姆侯赛因政权或任何原因是“。
伊拉克人目前定于10月份就新宪法进行表决。美国一位高级指挥官在另一次通报中表示,人们越来越相信,12月的公民投票和选举将取得成功。
但军队少将约瑟夫·塔图托也预测,随着选举的临近,逊尼派占主导地位的暴力将会增加。
他说:“我们预计敌人会加大袭击力度,特别是在公投前。” “不同的团体都有自己的策略,选择一个时间进行攻击,但是他们往上走,然后我们会有一两个星期的时间攻击下来,好像重新武装起来,攻击。”
当被问及为什么美国领导的军事联盟迄今未能击败叛乱分子时,塔图托将军表示,目前正在取得进展,部队在停止许多袭击之前不会被执行。
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