By Jacquelyn S. Porth
Washington File Security Affairs Writer

Washington -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says security is "the number one priority in Iraq," but he dismissed as false media reports that U.S. soldiers have orders to shoot looters on sight.

U.S. ground forces will remain in Iraq, the secretary told reporters at the Pentagon May 15, to provide security "as best as is possible" and to "create a physical presence ... so that people recognize that there are individuals in the coalition who are determined" to create a safe environment for the people of Iraq.

Rumsfeld said plans are being implemented to increase the number of U.S. military police soldiers in Baghdad in the coming days as a way to strengthen the physical presence in Iraq, and elements of the 1st Armored Division will flow into Iraq as mapped out last year by military commanders. In addition to the U.S. presence, the secretary said the number of Iraqi police back on the job now in Baghdad totals 7,000.

Even though major combat operations are over in Iraq, "it's still a very dangerous place where considerable difficult work remains to be done," Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Richard Myers said. General Myers, who briefed alongside Rumsfeld, added that "we're [going] about that work now."

Myers also announced a major raid by the 4th Infantry Division on an alleged Saddam Hussein regime safe house in a village south of Tikrit. Initial reports indicated that several dozen individuals have been detained, he said.

Rumsfeld said he daily examines a map that tracks security conditions, amounts of food, electricity, and water available as well as public services for some 27 major Iraqi cities. While those cities are facing what he described as challenges, he said "most areas are progressing."

In an effort to speed up improvements, Army Major General Buford Blount said "Task Force Neighborhood" began in Baghdad May 15. Blount, who is commander of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, spoke to reporters at the Pentagon via a videophone broadcast from Baghdad International Airport in advance of the Rumsfeld-Myers briefing. The 20,000 soldiers under his command are working hard to get Iraq back on its feet and on the road to self-determination, he said.

Neighborhoods will be visited at random and U.S. soldiers will do whatever is necessary to provide assistance, including garbage disposal, medical aid, and ordnance removal, Blount said.

The U.S. forces will have the authority to hire 20 to 30 day workers on the spot and pay them for whatever needs doing in that neighborhood. The idea is to instill pride in neighborhoods and provide a cash infusion at the same time, the commander said. He also said fuel deliveries to gas stations are being tripled in an effort to reduce refill lines and frustration at local pumps.

"Security is our number one concern," Blount said, noting that his troops are dealing with both a criminal element and with Saddam Hussein loyalists who are trying to undermine coalition work. He indicated that 90 percent of the activity is petty crime involving looters, bank robbers and car-jackers, while the remaining 10 percent is being perpetrated by supporters of the previous regime. The military official expressed ongoing concern about remnants of the Ba'ath Party and Saddam's Fedayeen, but he said "de-Ba'athification" efforts continue.

U.S. soldiers have neither "shoot-to-kill" nor "shoot on sight" orders with respect to persistent looters, Blount said. He predicted that the amount of looting will drop because criminals are being held in custody longer (three weeks now, instead of hours or days) and locals are communicating more frequently with the now more visible patrolling forces. As electricity increasingly lights up streets at night and traffic signals begin working again, Blount said, a sense of security is further bolstered.

He said his troops are conducting 250 patrols daily and looking to do some joint patrols with newly returned Iraqi police in Baghdad. Another 230 new military jeeps will be out on street patrol shortly, he said, further raising the profile of U.S. forces.

The Army officer said some 21 sites are under U.S. guard. The number of U.S. military police in the Iraqi capital will soon be increasing to 4,000, he added. "We're prepared to stay as long as we're required to," Blount said.

Blount said his forces have been busy hauling 60 to 70 truckloads of ammunition and weapons out of Baghdad daily. By the end of the week, the military officer said, more than 1,000 truckloads of equipment including 35 million rounds of various ammunition will be gone, but much remains. Completing the job will take another two to three weeks, he said.

In his operational update, Rumsfeld talked about the contributions other nations are making to improve life in Iraq. He said 24 nations are providing military support and 38 have offered financial assistance totaling more than $1,800 million. The secretary predicted additional contributions will be announced in coming days. In the meantime, he said, Lithuania has sent orthopedic surgery specialists to southern Iraq, Spain has a 150-person health team in-country and is working on electrical and water system repairs, Greece has dispatched some 20 tons of food and clothing, and the Czech Republic has a field hospital operating in Basra and has trucked in water, tents, blankets and medicine.

Rumsfeld also noted that additional mass graves were unearthed in Iraq this week, saying they are further evidence of the brutality of Saddam Hussein's regime. "The discovery was still another chilling reminder of why so many nations came together" to remove Saddam Hussein from power, the secretary said. It is a reminder, he said, that a regime that had "disregard for innocent human life is gone."