Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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June 16, 2007

US Launches New Offensives in Baghdad
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=17D8096:A6F02AD83191E1601ABB53EF5AB939419574F7DCC14957C0 Announcement comes
as Defense Secretary Robert Gates visits Baghdad to press Iraqi
leaders to make progress toward national reconciliation The American
commander in Iraq says his forces have launched new offensives against
al-Qaida insurgents in and around Baghdad during the last 24 hours,
making use of the last of the additional combat forces President Bush
ordered to Iraq in January. VOA's Al Pessin reports from Baghdad.







General David Petraeus, right, speaks at news conference with Defense
Secretary Robert Gates (16 Jun 07)General David Petraeus announced the
offensives at a news conference on Saturday.

"Literally in the last 24 hours, we have launched a number of
different offensive operations in the Baghdad belts in particular," he
said, "and we're continuing a number of operations that have been
ongoing in Baghdad itself."

General Petraeus says the operations are targeting areas that have
been al-Qaida safe havens, and bases for launching car bomb attacks.
"A fairly large, coordinated offensive operation, with all of these
surge forces, has only just now been launched," he said.







Iraqi and American officers escort Secretary Robert Gates, center, and
Iraqi Staff Major General Riyadh Jalal Tawfiq at the Joint Security
StationThe general said he is taking advantage of the fact that the
last of the extra U.S. forces have finally arrived, bringing new
capabilities he can use to go after insurgents on their home ground.
He would not provide any details of the operations. The general also
announced the arrest of two key insurgent leaders in recent days.

General Petraeus spoke at a news conference with U.S. Defense
Secretary Robert Gates, who was on a one-day visit to Iraq. Secretary
Gates said he came to press Iraqi leaders to make progress toward
national reconciliation, which the U.S. government believes is crucial
to long-term stability in Iraq.

"Is this a difficult process? Yes, because of the history of this
country," said Gates. "But what is extraordinary is [that] it's not
just Americans and our coalition partners who are willing to take
risks and put their lives on the line, but a significant number of
Iraqis as well, and those are the people we're trying to help."







U.S. soldier provides cover after a grenade attack in southern Baghdad
(15 Jun 07)At the same news conference, the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq
Ryan Crocker spoke about the difficulty of pushing Iraqi leaders to
move forward. "These have to be Iraqi decisions, Iraqi compromises, if
they're really going to take effect and work," said Crocker. "We can't
come up with solutions, as the United States, and expect to impose
them or to impose timelines, and say, 'you've got to do this for the
future of your country."

Ambassador Crocker and Secretary Gates both also spoke about efforts
to achieve reconciliation on a local level throughout Iraq. Early
Saturday, Gates, Crocker and Petraeus visited a new Joint Security
Station in southeastern Baghdad, operated by U.S. and Iraqi forces.
Senior U.S. and Iraqi officers told the visitors they are making the
kind of progress in relations among sectarian groups locally that
remains elusive on the national level.




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