New administrator but Baghdad burns

Baghdad residents and US officials said on Monday that US occupation forces are insufficient to maintain order in the Iraqi capital and call...

Baghdad residents and US officials said on Monday that US occupation forces are insufficient to maintain order in the Iraqi capital and called for reinforcements to calm a wave of violence that has unfurled over the city, undermining relief and reconstruction efforts and inspiring anxiety about the future.

Reports of carjackings, assaults and forced evictions grew, adding to an impression that recent improvements in security were evaporating. Fires burned anew in several Iraqi government buildings and looting resumed at one of former President Saddam Hussein’s palaces.

The sound of gunfire rattled during the night; many residents said they were keeping their children home from school during the day. Even traffic was affected, as drivers ignored rules in the absence of Iraqi police, only to crash and cause tie-ups. The calls for more US troops to police the city coincided with the arrival of the new US civilian administrator L. Paul Bremer III.

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An office and warehouse belonging to the aid group CARE were attacked Sunday night. In two other weekend incidents, two CARE vehicles were seized by armed men, the organisation reported on Monday, asking the US occupation forces to ‘‘take immediate steps to restore law and order to Baghdad.’’

Baghdad residents have been increasingly preoccupied by violence and the uncertainty it has produced, slowing relief and rebuilding efforts. Civilian staff members still have instructions to wear body armour and helmets and travel with military escorts.

Food warehouses, hospitals and government offices have reported security problems, with administrators pleading with US forces to do more. A staff member with US reconstruction office said the responsibility for stabilising the situation lies with the US military, which President Bush assigned to run postwar Iraq.

Any order to increase manpower would have to come from Washington. ‘‘Any time you have a security vacuum,’’ he said, ‘‘the people who are going to be able to fill it are the military.’’

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Lt. Gen. David D. McKiernan, commander of ground troops in Iraq, said the roughly 150,000 troops under his command are focusing on many assignments simultaneously, including hunting for WMDs and Iraq’s missing leaders while also imposing order on a country the size of California.

‘‘Imagine spreading 150,000 soldiers in the state of California and then ask yourself could you secure all of California all the time with 150,000 soldiers,’’ McKiernan said last week. ‘‘The answer is no. So we’re focused on certain areas, on certain transportation networks we need to make sure are open.’’

McKiernan emphasised the importance of Iraqis taking charge of their city. So far, perhaps half the city’s police force has showed up for vetting and training. But relatively few have returned to active work.

All 60 of the city’s police stations were looted — five main buildings are occupied by families of squatters. There is no working communications system, and only a small number of police cars were not ruined or looted during the postwar rampage.

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‘‘I don’t see it getting better.’’ said Pfc. Jacob Weber, 21. ‘‘I feel like a cop, but I’m not a cop.’’ Across the Tigris River, a 3rd Infantry reconnaissance unit waded into a dispute over a shooting, seized an old pistol and warned the participants to settle their argument by calmer means. ‘‘We’re like cops in Baghdad now,’’ said one officer in helmet and armoured vest. ‘‘Iraqi Vice,’’ deadpanned Sgt. Corey Tondre. (LAT-WP)