BAGHDAD, May 14 -- The U.S. military commander in Iraq declared tonight that remnants of Saddam Hussein's defeated government, who he said are challenging the U.S. occupation, pose a greater threat to rebuilding the country than the persistent street violence that has plagued Baghdad.
The commander, Army Lt. Gen. David D. McKiernan, said U.S. intelligence reports show loosely organized groups of Hussein loyalists, which he called "regime elements," have terrorized Iraqis, targeted U.S. troops and destroyed repairs made to Iraq's war-damaged infrastructure. The Baath Party diehards are "committed to a long fight that will complicate the mission of the coalition," he charged.
McKiernan's warning, at a news conference in Baghdad, described for the first time a resistance to the five-week-old occupation. Iraqis have not publicly spoken of such groups, complaining instead of looting, robberies, carjackings and gunfire in the night, faulting U.S. forces for failing to stop the chaos.
McKiernan declined to offer details or estimate numbers of the resistance he described. But Maj. Gen. Buford Blount III, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division based in Baghdad, joined him in saying that some marauders are not simply criminals, but politically focused gunmen whose "intent is to attack anything that the coalition is trying to get stood up."
"They have continued to try to ambush our soldiers on patrol," said Blount, who offered no specifics in response to questions. "They're not necessarily centrally organized, but they pose a danger and have attacked coalition forces."
McKiernan reported that "most" U.S. military resources are being used to combat these groups, which he speculated include members of the paramilitary and security forces once commanded by Hussein and his two sons, Uday and Qusay. "Until these people are destroyed or captured, the security environment here in Iraq will remain problematic," he said.
Violence that until now has been attributed to criminals -- not political resistance -- has frightened Baghdad residents and severely handicapped reconstruction since the Hussein government collapsed April 9 in the face of a U.S. invasion. Bank managers have remained too frightened to open their doors. Police officers have not returned to street patrols because they, too, are frightened. Foreign aid groups and investors have expressed reluctance to put employees or capital at risk. Until there is security, Iraqis and American advisers have insisted, there can be no postwar rebirth.
The Baghdad representative of UNICEF, the U.N. children's agency, said the inability of U.S. forces to provide security is endangering the lives of more than 300,000 Iraqi children. Compared with a year ago, nearly twice as many children under age 5 in urban centers are suffering from acute malnutrition, the organization said.
"We know the risks that Iraq's children face and we know what to do, but we are humanitarian workers, not police. Secure aid delivery equals effective relief. We are still calling on someone to deliver that security," Carel De Rooy, the UNICEF representative, said in a statement.
Last weekend, the aid group CARE lost two vehicles to armed men in separate incidents. One of its warehouses was attacked and a guard was shot.
Despite his concern about a challenge from underground Baath loyalists, McKiernan said U.S. forces will become much more visible and assertive on Baghdad's streets in response to the complaints about violence. U.S. troops will now detain more suspects and keep them in custody for 20 days, instead of the current practice of releasing them after 48 hours. Suspects arrested for violent crimes will be held until the Iraqi court system, now crippled and all but closed, is able to handle them. About 600 Iraqis are now in custody, charged with postwar crimes, McKiernan said.
"You will see more soldiers . . . day and night, actively patrolling," he said.
He said he will announce a new policy on weapons possession by the end of the week, but cautioned that it will take time to stabilize a country that has neither law nor order.
McKiernan, under pressure from Iraqis and foreign governments and organizations, said he is not asking the Pentagon to send more troops. But he said the character of the occupation force in Baghdad will shift somewhat in coming weeks as military police arrive to replace battle-worn troops who are tired and largely untrained for urban policing.
The number of military police in Baghdad, a city of 5 million, will grow from its current level of 1,800 to about 4,000, McKiernan said. Iraqi police units, most of which disbanded during the war, will be expected to join more U.S. patrols and do more work on their own.
McKiernan and Blount disputed a report that U.S. forces will be authorized to shoot looters on sight to bring the Baghdad violence under control. Blount said the Iraq operation's military rules of engagement prohibit soldiers from firing unless they believe their lives are in danger. He said no changes to the policy were being contemplated.
"Unless the soldier's life is threatened," Blount added, "we're not going out aggressively shooting looters."
The report apparently stemmed from a remark by L. Paul Bremer III, the newly installed director of the U.S. Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, which is managing postwar Iraq. According to someone present when Bremer addressed his staff in a closed meeting, he mused that U.S. forces might need to shoot looters to deter them.
While U.S. troops are protecting 200 buildings in Baghdad, human rights groups complain that McKiernan's forces are neglecting to protect mass grave sites, compromising forensic evidence that could be used to investigate abuses by the Hussein government.
"It's a countrywide failure," said Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights Watch, who termed "shameful" a U.S. decision not to prevent Iraqis from unearthing remains and trampling evidence in their search for answers about their loved ones.
To build confidence on another front, U.S. civilian officials began informing Iraqi government workers today of salary payments that will include large raises for teachers, police officers and others at the bottom of the Hussein-era earnings table. The four-tier system, involving 1.4 million Iraqis, covers missed paydays during and after the invasion. It reduces the salaries of senior managers, cuts judicial pay in half and eliminates pay for the intelligence service, Hussein's presidential guard and the uniformed military.
"We think that most people will be winners," said one senior U.S. official. As for the losers, whose salaries are being distributed to the others, he said, "They're not the people we care about right now."
To shorten lines at gas stations that sometimes stretch longer than two miles, McKiernan said U.S. forces are increasing deliveries of fuel to Baghdad and other cities. He said 1.5 million gallons would be destined for Baghdad and 400,000 gallons for the northern city of Mosul. U.S. soldiers are policing gas station lines and trying to manage the anger of Iraqis who spend hours waiting in temperatures that near 100 degrees.
Work continued, meanwhile, on repairing the electrical grid in Baghdad, where power shortages routinely darken neighborhoods and impede government agencies and companies from returning to business. Only about half the electricity needed in the city is being produced, with problems traced to damaged and looted equipment and the difficulty of arranging supplies and repairs.
