U.S. Gets Tough on Iraqi Insurgents

Sept. 22, 2004 -- U.S. forces in Iraq have stepped up their operations against insurgents in recent days because of an assessment by U.S. commanders in the field, ABC News has learned.

The assessment — drawn up by U.S. military commanders in Iraq and sent to senior officials at the Defense Department and other government agencies — concludes that U.S. forces have to get tougher on the insurgents in order for progress to be made on reconstruction and political stability.

Portions of the assessment were described to ABC News. The assessment concludes:

That security is making it difficult to repair an already poor infrastructure;

That Iraq's borders remain porous;

That it will be six to 12 months before the Iraqi security forces are able to handle any important strategic missions;

That Iraq's interim government has had a good beginning, but many Iraqi people have not yet been won over.

The good news: commanders do feel that large portions of Iraq are relatively secure, but the Sunni Triangle and Baghdad remain a problem.

U.S. forces fought a full-scale battle in the Sadr City section of Baghdad Tuesday night, with U.S. troops on the offensive against a well-armed militia. The fight continued throughout the day, with a large U.S. force, backed by Iraqi troops, facing constant fire. There were four U.S. soldiers wounded and no U.S. deaths, but dozens of militiamen were killed.