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January 29, 2005

Meanwhile, in that other new democracy . . .

Central Command reports that:

The trend in Afghan citizens and security forces assisting coalition forces by turning in weapons caches has continued to increase over the past two years. In 2003, for example, only 10 percent of all weapons caches were turned in by local Afghan citizens (not including Afghan security forces). In 2004, that number increased to 31 percent.

Since October 2004, for example, 236 weapons caches have been discovered throughout Afghanistan. Of these 236 caches, 99 were turned in to coalition forces by local Afghan citizens, local Afghan government officials, or Afghan security forces.

This trend is important for many reasons – to create a secure environment, to ensure stability and to improve the quality of life for all Afghans. But, it is also important because of an incident on Tuesday.

A local citizen turned in two rocket propelled grenade rounds to Afghan soldiers working with coalition forces. When the Afghan soldiers went to investigate where the rounds came from, they discovered children playing with an even larger cache of RPG rounds. These unattended caches present an even greater danger to innocent people who may come upon them, and it is important that everyone work together to eliminate this hazard.

Another Central Command release notes:

MOSUL, IRAQ – Multi-National Forces from 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) were able to defuse a roadside bomb following a tip received through the Joint Coordination Center in northern Iraq Jan. 28.

The tip came from an Iraqi citizen who had called the Joint Coordination Center to inform them of the bomb planted in northeastern Mosul. Only four days ago another tip in the same area resulted in a roadside bomb being defused. These types of courageous acts demonstrate the commitment of Iraqi citizens to ensuring a safe and peaceful Iraq.

Looks as though the trend of greater civilian cooperation is on the rise in both countries . . . Central Command has stories like this up all the time . . .

Posted by Chester at January 29, 2005 11:28 AM

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