umm Jack Keane is in Iraq!!

[rodeodance]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070223/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

.......Meanwhile, retired Army Gen. Jack Keane, who was the vice chief of staff when the Iraq war was launched in 2003, urged Iraqis northeast of Baghdad to be patient during the security sweep in the capital. He acknowledged that militants had fled to the area ahead of the operation but said there weren't "enough forces to secure the population."

"We have a major effort taking place in Baghdad, and it's become the center of gravity. I know that doesn't solve your problems, and in some cases it contributes to it because it pushes the enemy into your area," Keane told the top Iraqi police and army officials in Diyala province. "But the model is to establish security and then restore essential services right behind it. If this works as we hope, it'll benefit you as well."

"We don't have enough forces to clear and actually secure the population," he added.

Underscoring the increase in violence, an AP tally for February showed that at least 1,897 Iraqi civilians had been wounded as of Friday. That's the highest number of wounded civilians for one month since the AP began keeping track in May 2005.