Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli AFP/Getty Images U.S. commander in Iraq says reviving economy is key to lowering casualty rate WASHINGTON (AP)  The key to reducing American casualties in Iraq is getting a government in Baghdad that can revive the economy and "take the angry young men off the street, to give them an alternative" to planting roadside bombs and inflicting other violence, the No. 2-ranking U.S. general in Iraq said Friday. "I honestly believe that as this government begins work on the policies that will be required to put people to work and make use of the vast resources of Iraq that you're going to see a decrease in violence," Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, commander of Multi-national Corps Iraq, said in a video teleconference with reporters at the Pentagon. At least 126 U.S. troops have died in Iraq over the past month and a half, marking the deadliest period since last fall — even as Iraq's U.S.-trained security forces have been taking more of the lead role in fighting the insurgency. Chiarelli said the insurgents are seeking to take advantage of what he called a period of vulnerability for Iraqi leaders as they seek to establish a unity government and gain credibility in the eyes of ordinary Iraqis. "They have indicated again," Chiarelli said, referring to the insurgents and terrorists, "through these (acts of violence) that they are going to do everything they possibly can to destabilize that government." U.S. military commanders have made similar assertions virtually throughout the post-invasion period in Iraq, linking periods of increased U.S. and Iraqi casualties to a series of political milestones in the formation of a democratically elected government. That was the case, for example, in the weeks leading up to the January 2005 election, followed by the writing of a constitution last summer, followed by last October's national referendum on the constitution, and then the December election of the first full-term government. Chiarelli said this pattern can be broken if the new government succeeds in reviving the economy and reducing unemployment. "In the areas where unemployment is the highest, as I go out and talk to people in those areas they tell me the one thing you can do to lower the number of insurgents is find jobs for the people," Chiarelli said. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Lt. General Peter Chiarelli, the No. 2 ranking US general in Iraq, has made the assertion that providing jobs for the Iraqi people is key to ending the insurgency and stabilizing the country.

In a video teleconference with reporters at the Pentagon he said, "by creating jobs and opportunity, the Iraqi government would take away a major source of support for violent movements -- aimless, underemployed, young men who would otherwise rather be gainfully employed and supporting their families, but are laying IEDs, shooting RPGs and fighting Iraqi security forces and the coalition because they lack alternatives…. In areas where unemployment is the highest, as I go out and talk to people in those areas, and they tell me the one thing that you can do to lower the number of insurgencies is find jobs for the people. And we're committed to help both the Iraqi government and the PRTs as they go about the business of doing exactly that."

The General also said that the insurgents were taking advantage of political disputes within the Iraqi leadership as they are attempting to form an inclusive government.

Chiarelli's assertion is similar to a claim made by Lt. General John R. Vines in 2005 that insurgents often attack US forces out of a desire to earn money instead of ideology. Simple tasks, such as placing a bomb or mine, are often done in exchange for amounts as little as $100 to $150.

The estimated unemployment rate in Iraq for 2005 was 25-30%. 

Opponents of the Bush administration's handling of the war say that Iraq's unemployment crisis is partially a result of decisions made by the Coalition Provisional Authority in 2003 to disband the Iraqi army and purge the Iraqi civil service of high-ranking members of the Baath Party. Both of these moves led to an estimated 500,000 Iraqis losing their jobs, about one out of every ten Iraqi workers at the time.