Insurgents infiltrating coalition, US says

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http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2004/12/25/insurgents_infiltrating_coalition_us_says/

WASHINGTON -- Iraqi insurgents and their informants have been infiltrating US and coalition organizations, Iraqi security units, and political parties in growing numbers, posing a daunting challenge to efforts to defeat the guerrillas and create a stable Iraqi state, according to US military officials, Iraq specialists, and a new study of Iraqi security forces.

Officials in Baghdad insist they are putting systems in place to review new recruits for the Iraqi security forces and Iraqi and foreign workers who mingle daily with large numbers of American and allied troops. Yesterday, US authorities announced that a new assessment team will conduct a wide-ranging probe into security lapses at US and Iraqi government facilities.

But the apparent suicide attack that killed 21 people inside a US Army base in northern Iraq this week brought home what US officials have quietly been warning for months: insurgents in Iraq, including Iraqis and foreign fighters, are increasingly operating within their midst.

And in many cases, they appear to be gathering better intelligence on US military movements and the activities of the new Iraqi government than coalition forces are gathering on guerrilla plans.

''Penetration of Iraqi security and military forces may be the rule, not the exception," according to a draft version of a study of Iraqi security forces by a senior Pentagon consultant.

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