U.S. Military: Morale In Iraq Remains Good

The U.S. military asserts that morale among troops in Iraq remains good.

Officials said American combat units have not been significantly affected by the widespread calls in the United States for a withdrawal from Iraq. They said enlistment of combat units remains high, with many of them returning for second or third tours.

“If they didn’t think what they were doing was important, then they wouldn’t re-enlist,” Maj. Gen. Richard Zilmer, commander of Multinational Force West, said.

On Dec. 9, Zilmer, a Marine officer, said retention among Marines based in Iraq was more than 140 percent of the goal. He said many of the Marines and soldiers in the Anbar province have been on their second or third tour.

“They come out here and decide they will make a difference,” Zilmer said. “And they do. Every day.”

Over the weekend, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said combat troops represented the highest re-enlistment rates in the military. He told soldiers at the Balad Air Force Base, that despite the domestic debate over Iraq, Americans support the work of the military.

Many soldiers and airmen at Balad said they have not lost the conviction that the war in Iraq could be won. They said the American people must retain similar faith.

“This is my second yearlong tour,” a convoy commander at Anaconda Logistics Area said. “Why am I more patient than someone sitting at home in ‘Fort Livingroom?'”

GCC Mulls Dialogue With Iran

The Gulf Cooperation Council has been examining the prospect of a formal dialogue with Iran on regional security.

Officials said GCC leaders have been discussing a strategic dialogue with Iran that would include its nuclear and conventional weapons program. They said the dialogue could be arranged by a Western power acceptable to both sides.

“We need a continuous dialogue with Iran – not an occasional one – and a unified voice so there is no doubt or ambiguity about our intentions,” Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa said.

Al-Khalifa discussed the proposed talks with Iran in an address to the Manama Dialogue security conference in Bahrain on Dec. 8. The crown prince said a GCC-Iran dialogue would require a third party, preferably the so-called EU-3, comprised of Britain, France and Germany.

“A trusted third party is required to mediate between regional powers,” Al-Khalifa told the seminar, co-sponsored by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Officials said Al-Khalifa’s recommendation has been discussed by GCC leaders, who ended a two-day summit in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. The crown prince said the dialogue should also include China, India, Russia and the United States and focus on the nuclear issue as well as the Arab-Israeli conflict.

“Iran is a major regional power in military terms – even without nuclear weapons,” the crown prince said.

On Oct. 30, Bahrain hosted a two-day U.S.-led naval exercise off the coast of Iran. The exercise, the first by the Proliferation Security Initiative in the Gulf, conducted a scenario in which a shipment of weapons of mass destruction headed toward Iran was tracked and intercepted.

Iran has demanded that the six GCC states agree to a security architecture. The arrangement would include the expulsion of U.S. forces from the region.

All six GCC states contain a U.S. military presence. The largest American presence has been in Kuwait, with more than 15,000 U.S. troops.

On Sunday, GCC leaders said they would examine a plan to cooperate in the development of nuclear energy. The leaders, who discussed Iran’s nuclear program, said they have ordered the feasibility of the plan.

“The countries of the region have the right to nuclear energy technology for peaceful purposes,” GCC Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Al Atiyya said. “The higher committee ordered a GCC-wide study to be carried out to create a joint program in nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, according to international standards and arrangements.”

Iran Expands Nuke Enrichment Program

Iran has expanded its uranium enrichment program.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tehran has begun installing 3,000 centrifuges at the nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz. Ahmadinejad said this would advance Iran’s plans for the industrial production of uranium enrichment.

“We have started installing 3,000 centrifuges,” Ahmadinejad said. “This is the first step toward industrial production.”

In April 2006, Iran announced plans to assemble and install 3,000 gas centrifuges at Natanz.

In the second stage, Natanz was designed to contain up to 60,000 centrifuges.

“We will be able to produce our nuclear fuel once we install 60,000 centrifuges,” Ahmadinejad said.

The president said Iran has been operating two cascades of 164 centrifuges each. He said the operation of the cascades defied Western assessments that Iran was stuck in its uranium enrichment program.

©The Bulletin 2006