Emboldened Iraqi tipsters reveal more weapons caches

[Woodmonkey]

BAGHDAD — Weapons caches are turning up with increasing frequency in public places in Iraq — from a bakery to a fish farm — as recent security gains embolden more civilians to come forward with tips, U.S. and Iraqi military officials say.

The odd locations of many of the discoveries reflect the fine line separating civilians from the Shiite and Sunni extremists who don't wear uniforms and often live among them.

Many would-be tipsters had previously looked the other way out of fear.
"These are people who in the past weren't willing to come forth because of the threats from militias," said Maj. Gen. Jeff Hammond, the top commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad. "Now they're telling the Iraqi army they've had it with the militia."

The chief Iraqi military commander in Baghdad, Gen. Abboud Qanbar, said the quality of the tips also has improved.

"Now we are given accurate information, and this has enabled us to discover large caches," he told reporters Wednesday.

Cash rewards are another motivation for tipsters. For the military, it's money well spent: So far this year, U.S. and Iraqi forces have cleared and found 4,950 caches, compared with 6,963 in all of 2007, according to U.S. military figures.

Skeptics, however, warn the weapons found to date are likely a small portion of the overall arsenal. They point out that insurgents on both sides of the sectarian divide have proved adept at getting new arms.

"It seems to me that the amount that has been confiscated is small relative to the amount that might be out there," said John Pike, a military and security analyst who runs the respected Web site GlobalSecurity.org.
"It is an essential part of a counterinsurgency strategy," he said in a telephone interview. "But I just don't see that it has the potential to materially contribute to victory … because it's just so easy to resupply."
But U.S. military officials point to growing public confidence in recent military successes in Shiite militia strongholds.

A U.S.-funded Sunni revolt against al-Qaida in Iraq, in which former fighters joined forces with the Americans, also has provided troops with more information about hiding places.

The trend is particularly evident in Sadr City, a Baghdad district of 2.5 million people that has been long dominated by the Mahdi Army militia of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The Source