Pullout of some coalition forces a "manageable military problem"

Washington -- Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, deputy director for coalition operations in Iraq, says a thorough, impartial investigation will determine what went wrong when two Iraqi journalists were killed by coalition forces April 19.

Speaking in Baghdad April 20, Kimmitt told reporters that the vehicle carrying the journalists apparently disregarded warning shots as it approached an Iraqi Civil Defense Corps base. A third Iraqi --- who was holding press credentials -- was wounded in the incident, while an Iraqi police officer, also traveling in the vehicle, was unharmed.

Kimmitt said that Ambassador Paul Bremer, the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) administrator, had expressed his sincere condolences to family members, friends and colleagues of the dead journalists and was committed to determining why this tragedy had occurred.

Daniel Senor, CPA senior adviser, also participated in the briefing. When asked why the lives of Iraqi reporters were not being protected, Senor said that tragic events such as this often occur when the environment is hostile. He also noted that the coalition considers freedom of speech and a free press extremely important "pillars of building a democratic society" and that the coalition is going to great lengths to ensure that these principles are protected now and when the coalition forces withdraw.

When asked for an update on developments in Fallujah, Kimmitt told reporters that it was too early to judge the extent to which any heavy weaponry was being turned in by insurgent forces, but that he was still hoping for a peaceful solution to the fighting there. The coalition would not allow foreign fighters, terrorists and former regime loyalists to hold the city hostage, he added.

Senor was asked to comment on a statement by the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) that seemed to reject a proposal by U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, by proposing alternative governing plans for the post-June 30 period, including an expanded version of the IGC itself. Senor said that the United States is very supportive of the U.N. plan but that wide consultations would help, not hinder, the process.

Kimmitt confirmed that some members of the coalition are officially withdrawing from Iraq, saying "the Spanish have announced their withdrawal, the Hondurans have announced their withdrawal. We understand the Salvadorans have decided to stay in the country until their departure at the end of July, beginning of August. And I don't know that the Dominicans have made a decision at this point." He described the development as a "manageable military problem."

Kimmitt also praised the performance of the 36th Iraqi Civil Defense Corps [ICDC] Battalion during recent combat operations in Fallujah. "In the view of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, the battalion distinguished itself as a trustworthy and capable Iraqi security force and will serve as a benchmark for ICDC performance in the future" Kimmitt said.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)