Franks Visits Frontline Troops in Iraq

[thedrifter]

Apr 7, 8:50 PM EDT

Franks Visits Frontline Troops in Iraq

By HANS GREIMEL
Associated Press Writer





CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar (AP) -- Wearing camouflaged body armor and a black beret, U.S. war commander Gen. Tommy Franks made his first visit to front-line troops in Iraq on Monday.

Franks left his headquarters outside Doha, Qatar, in a military jet bound for Kuwait. There, he boarded a Black Hawk helicopter flanked by machine gunners for ride across the border into southern Iraq, at times skimming the Euphrates River.

He took in several towns, including Basra and the Shiite holy city of Najaf where a suicide bomber killed four U.S. soldiers last month, according to a senior official at U.S. Central Command.

On the ground, the four-star general greeted troops with slaps and hugs. Franks took photos with some, pinned Bronze Star medals on two sergeants from the 101st Airborne, and dug into battlefield rations, the plastic-wrapped MREs, or meals-ready-to-eat.

"I think it would be almost impossible for anyone to see those kids and recognize where they came from and what they've done over the last two weeks and look at their mental state and morale and not feel pretty good about it," Franks said.

U.S. Central Command described Franks' trip, his first to Iraq since the start of the war, as a morale booster for the troops. But the one-day sweep also underscores the growing sense of control and security felt by U.S.-led forces as they march into Baghdad.

Franks had a pistol tucked under his belt and kept a chemical weapons suit by his side throughout the trip. But at one point, the coalition commander drove in a Humvee through the streets of Najaf, where scores waved and blew kisses to his motorcade - despite his vehicle's blacked-out windows.

Among the fighters Franks met were those of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, the Army's 101st Airborne Division and the British 1st Armored Division outside Basra. While greeting the 101st outside Najaf, he presented Bronze Stars to the unit's Sgt. James Ward and Sgt. Lucas Goddard. Their hometowns and details about why they were receiving the award were not released.

Franks did not go to Baghdad. He stayed overnight at the Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain, where he met the king, Sheik Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Field commanders briefed Franks on the capture earlier in the day of one of Saddam Hussein's palaces in Baghdad, the status of seized weapons, and the humanitarian plight of Iraqi civilians.

He was told that 110 schools in the Najaf area had been used as weapons depots by Iraqi troops and that drinkable water, not food or medicine, was the top humanitarian need of civilians.

Franks said the progress reports he heard gave him a better sense of how long it would take to restore peace and stability in Iraq. But he didn't share any forecasts.

"It was encouraging," Franks said.




Sempers,

Roger