LONDON, Oct 19: A crackdown on guerillas in Iraqi hotspots like Fallujahh must be carefully conducted to Avoid losing a battle for the hearts and minds of Iraqis, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said on Tuesday.
"In these kind of situations you have two wars going on," he said. "You have the war for minds and hearts of the people as well as efforts to try and bring down the violence.
"The two have to go together and it has to be calibrated in such a way that you are able to move the people along with you ... I hope that approach is also the one that is being pursued by the government and others," he told a news conference with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.
Britain is expected to agree in the next few days to a U.S. request for extra British troops to patrol areas near to Baghdad, which would free up American soldiers to confront insurgents in rebel-held Fallujah.
A British reconnaissance team was on the ground in Iraq on Tuesday to look at the logistics of such a move, which has revived anger in Britain at Prime Minister Tony Blair's support for the war. "We are very sympathetic to this proposal," Straw said.
ELECTIONS: After talks with Mr Blair, Mr Annan said tackling guerillas was essential to create a secure environment for rebuilding Iraq.
"Security is absolutely essential for us to be able to carry on with reconstruction," he told reporters in Mr Blair's Downing Street home.
Tony Blair said he and the UN chief had agreed Iraqi elections planned for January must go ahead. He denied Britain would be helping President George Bush with his own looming election by sending more troops.
"The only elections that matter in this regard are the Iraqi elections next January which are an integral part of making sure that Iraq stabilises and these terrorists and other groups do not have their way," Blair said.
Mr Annan has called the invasion illegal and said it had done little nothing to improve global security or halt terrorism. But he concurred that the election process was on track. -Reuters
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