© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Iraq Violence Grows Despite U.S. Security Plan

U.S. Army Gen. George Casey, commander of multinational force in Iraq, answers questions during a Pentagon press conference, June 22, 2006.
Win McNamee
/
Getty Images
U.S. Army Gen. George Casey, commander of multinational force in Iraq, answers questions during a Pentagon press conference, June 22, 2006.

The rising death toll and number of insurgent attacks in Iraq has forced the U.S. to add troops in Baghdad to try and reverse the trend in the country's capital. The U.S. plans to eventually turn over security responsibility to Iraqis.

Steve Inskeep speaks to Gen. George Casey, the commanding general of the multinational force in Iraq.

Casey says that Baghdad has become safer since the U.S. deployed additional forces to the capital earlier this summer.

"But we have a long way to go…. We actually have seen a positive trend over the last five weeks here. [It's] too early to say that this is going to last, but the operations that we have been doing have had a positive impact.

Those operations have included U.S. and Iraqi troops and police working jointly. Iraqi forces are not "quite ready yet" to work alone, Casey says. "We've been on a program… to transition security to the Iraqis. We're a little over halfway through that process."

"We have a very deliberate process where we prepare the Iraqi forces and hand it over to them," Casey says. "First, we build the organizations, train them and equip them. Then we put them in the lead, and that's what you're seeing now. They're in the lead with our support.

"The whole notion is they will get better faster doing it themselves with us helping them than they would watching us do it. The next step is to continue to work with them until they can do it independently. And that's what's going to take a little longer."

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.