But he rejected the idea that Mosul or any other place in Iraq would become a stronghold for insurgent activity. And he warned that Baathists were mistaken if they thought they could align themselves only temporarily with more radical elements to gain a political advantage.
"Once you get on that list of supporting terrorist groups, you only come off of it by being killed or captured," he said.
Gen. John P. Abizaid, shown in February at a military outpost in Fallujah, said many foreign fighters and Iraqi insurgents had recently moved from the city to Mosul.
(Robert Burns -- AP)
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The general also said that the assault on Fallujah had yielded an intelligence bonanza that he called "hugely important" in understanding the organization and financing of insurgent networks in Iraq.
"It will reveal connections that we didn't quite understand were there," he said.
One example he cited dealt with a trail of foreign fighters.
"We know that people were recruited from places such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, given plane tickets to go to Damascus, given false documentations in Damascus, facilitated across the border through bribery in case anybody questioned their documents, and then delivered to Fallujah by a series of safe houses," he said. "It's pretty interesting to see how that human-trafficking trail is organizing."
Additionally, he said, the information gathered in Fallujah will prove helpful in discovering the names of some of Zarqawi's financial backers. And it is yielding insights into how the insurgents sought to use Arab news media to their advantage.
"I think as we learn more and more from what we've uncovered in the Fallujah pocket, it will take us to places that were quite unexpected," he said, adding that he meant places outside of Iraq.
Abizaid declined to comment on the investigation into the death of Spec. Pat Tillman in Afghanistan in April. A two-part Washington Post series this week on the case detailed a chain of botched communications, misguided orders and undisciplined shooting that resulted in the death by friendly fire of Tillman, a former professional football player who became a U.S. Army Ranger. The series also raised questions about the handling of the military investigation.
"The Army has reopened the investigation, and until I see the results of that investigation, I really can't comment on it," said Abizaid, who formally approved the investigation's conclusions on May 28 under an aide's signature. He added that Tillman's death by friendly fire "should not detract from his sacrifice and his honorable service to the nation."
