No U.S. force reduction this year, general says

WASHINGTON — The deadly Iraqi insurgency shows little sign of weakening and probably will prevent any reduction in the number of U.S. troops in Iraq before the end of the year, a top U.S. commander said yesterday.

"At this point, I would not be prepared to recommend a draw-down prior to the election [in December in Iraq], certainly not in any significant numbers," said Army Lt. Gen. John Vines, the commander of coalition forces in Iraq.

The general's comments in a videoconference briefing from Baghdad were the most definitive yet by a U.S. commander in the field that the U.S. military "footprint" in Iraq would not diminish in 2005.

In recent weeks, members of Congress, including some Republicans, have been introducing resolutions urging President Bush to formulate plans to begin taking U.S. troops out of Iraq. Many insurgents conducting attacks in Iraq are primarily motivated by money instead of ideology, Vines said. Citing interviews with captured detainees, the general said some simple attacks, such as placing a bomb or mine, are performed for as little as $100 or $150.

Vines said he still hoped that, by early next year, a more battle-tested Iraqi army will be able to assume greater security responsibilities and allow for a U.S. troop reduction of four to five brigades — about 12,000-15,000 troops.

Vines said recent polls indicating declining support within the United States for the ongoing war in Iraq showed that many Americans "don't have a good perception of what's at stake here." Since the United States has not been attacked since 2001, Vines said, a "complacency" has set in among Americans.

"Quite honestly, I think we have a pretty clear-cut choice: We either deal with terrorism and this extremism abroad or we deal with it when it comes to us," Vines said.

U.S. blocking Saddam

probe, minister says

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Iraq's justice minister accused the United States yesterday of trying to hinder the Iraqi investigation of Saddam Hussein by limiting his access to interrogators, and said "it seems there are lots of secrets they want to hide."

Justice Minister Abdel Hussein Shandal alleged that U.S. officials are trying to limit access to Saddam because they have their own secrets to protect, including funneling money and support to the Iraqi leader during his rule.

"There should be transparency and there should be frankness, but there are secrets that, if revealed, won't be in the interest of many countries," he said. "Who was helping Saddam all those years?"

Saddam faces charges that include killing rival politicians over 30 years, gassing Kurds in the northern town of Halabja in 1988, invading Kuwait in 1990, and suppressing Kurdish and Shiite uprisings in 1991.

Also

Aid in battle zone: The Iraqi Red Crescent Society has dispatched several truckloads of supplies to the Syrian border, where U.S. Marines and warplanes have been battering suspected insurgents. Recent U.S.-led assaults on the cities of Qaim and Karabilah have displaced 7,000 families, said Said Hakki, president of the society.

Hostage freed: A Swedish man held hostage has been freed after 67 days in Iraq, the Foreign Ministry and local media said yesterday. His captivity had never been made public and the ministry refused to give further details.

However, 63-year-old Ulf Hjertstrom told tabloid newspaper Aftonbladet he had been held hostage for 67 days.

Additional material from The Associated Press and Reuters