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ANDERSON COOPER: Now to
Iraq and the deadliest single insurgent attack since
the war began.
Suicide bombers hitting three villages in the
northern part of the country, utterly leveling two of
those villages. The pictures speak for themselves. At
least 500 people have died. Hundreds more are more
hurt.
American commanders suspect al Qaeda but no claim of
responsibility yet. It happened in a place where
American forces have not so-called surged, and if
General Petraeus gets what he said today he wants,
there may soon be fewer and fewer Americans in Iraq
to surge anywhere.
The latest now on the bombings and the possible troop
cuts from CNN's Michael Ware, who joins us now from
Baghdad.
Michael, this is the area where the attacks occurred.
It's known for having -- I mean, is it known for
having a strong terrorist presence?
MICHAEL WARE: Absolutely, Anderson. I mean, this is
up along the Syrian border in the northwest part of
Iraq.
Now, not so long ago, just 18 months ago, two years
ago, al Qaeda essentially owned this area. I mean, it
was up here where the famed battle of Tal Afar took
place. That's a major city, just on the edge of the
border, that al Qaeda literally took complete control
over.
The areas that have been attacked in this devastating
strike are just south of that major city of Tal Afar.
So this was within al Qaeda's broader area of
influence.
Now, American forces went in to oust them. They did
that successfully at the time. But this just goes to
show you: you'll never be able to tame or defeat al
Qaeda. They will be a lingering presence.
COOPER: Why did they target this particular group,
this particular ethnic population?
WARE: Yeah, this is a number of communities of people
of the Yezidi religion or religious sect. Now, it
predates Islam. It doesn't hold any of the tenets of
Islam. So al Qaeda and indeed many other Muslims in
the region certainly frown very much upon this faith.
They see them as heathens or heretics.
Now, al Qaeda's long threatened this group, and now
we're seeing them really strike a blow against these
remote and peripheral communities, Anderson.
COOPER: So there are reports that General Petraeus
may call for a partial pullback in areas where
violence has been contained and turn over security to
Iraqi forces. Does the military need a persistent
force, a persistent U.S. force in those areas, or are
Iraqi forces ready?
WARE: Look, Anderson, to be honest, America needs a
persistent force all over this country. I mean, even
with the surge, there's not enough troops to do what
has to be done. Just in the fight against al Qaeda,
let alone the competition with Iran and its proxy
militias, who essentially own half of the country,
not U.S. forces.
I mean, we've just returned from an area north of the
capital Baghdad in the Diyala River Valley. Now,
there's never been enough U.S. troops to go in and
take that valley and own it. Well, now we're seeing
that happen.
But there's always pockets where al Qaeda can
maintain its headquarters and training camps, because
there's just not enough boots on the ground, and the
Iraqi forces are nowhere near ready.
COOPER: Michael Ware, appreciate the reporting.
Michael, thanks very much, joining us from Baghdad
tonight.