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.

Fighting Continues

In downtown Baghdad today, a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb near a recruiting station for the Iraqi National Guard, killing at least 10 people and wounding 40. A second car bomb killed a U.S. soldier in Baghdad. A roadside bomb left a soldier in Tikrit dead, and a third U.S. soldier was killed after an attack on a patrol near Mosul.

Today on Capitol Hill, military and civilian leaders said the violence will likely intensify as elections scheduled for January get closer.

"We know that the enemy will come at us very tough," said Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command. "But we also know we've got the military capacity to deal with anything that may come our way."

Despite the violence, commanders feel that in the last week or so there has been progress made in rounding up insurgents in Baghdad and elsewhere, and more can be expected in the coming days.

ABC News' Martha Raddatz filed this report for World News Tonight.