U.S. military sees 10-year commitment in Iraq
Thursday, June 26, 2008 Free Headline Alerts
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military has assessed that Iraq would remain dependent on outside support for the nation's security requirements for at least another decade.
Officials said the U.S. military, in a review for the Bush administration, has concluded that the Iraqi military and security forces are far from capable of independence. They said Iraq, solid development of its capabilities, was progressing at a slower rate than planned by the U.S.-led coalition.
The United States plans to withdraw five combat brigades, or about 16,000 troops, by August 2008. At the same time, U.S. commanders would determine whether the American military presence in Iraq could be further reduced to under 140,000 soldiers.
The U.S. military has reported an 80 percent decline in attacks in Iraq since June 2007 — from 1,200 to 200 per week. Officials said this has included a 70 percent decrease in roadside bomb attacks and an 85 percent spike in the number of weapons caches seized by U.S. and Iraqi troops. "There are no areas that we would be willing to separate out right now to dedicate specifically to the Iraqi security forces," Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin, the No. 2 U.S. military commander said.
In a June 23 teleconference from Iraq to the Pentagon, Austin, commander of Multinational Corps Iraq, said the Iraq Army and security forces could not be deployed on their own in any part of the country. He said Iraqi forces remain dependent on the U.S.-led coalition for logistics and intelligence.
The United States plans to withdraw five combat brigades, or about 16,000 troops, by August 2008. At the same time, U.S. commanders would determine whether the American military presence in Iraq could be further reduced to under 140,000 soldiers.
The U.S. military has reported an 80 percent decline in attacks in Iraq since June 2007 — from 1,200 to 200 per week. Officials said this has included a 70 percent decrease in roadside bomb attacks and an 85 percent spike in the number of weapons caches seized by U.S. and Iraqi troops.
"While the improved security is a great achievement, we clearly understand that our progress is fragile, and we continue to work to make this progress irreversible," Austin said.
So far, nine of Iraq's 18 provinces have been nominally under the control of the Baghdad government. The U.S.-led coalition has been repeatedly summoned to assist in major operations.
Iraq, officials said, was about 10 years away from an autonomous military that could defend against external enemies. They said the Interior Ministry was working on a plan to complete development and deployment of a counter-insurgency force by 2012.
Officials said the U.S. military continues to identify Al Qaida as the primary threat in Iraq. They said Al Qaida remains active in northern Iraq and around Baghdad.
"Even though we assess that they are on the run, they are still capable of launching spectacular attacks," Austin said. "As a result, our operations in the north are focused on defeating their capability to perform these attacks. We continue to aggressively pursue Al Qaida and to take away their safe havens and to close off all their escape routes when they try to flee."
Austin, however, stressed that the Iraqi security forces, despite significant progress, were not prepared to assume day-to-day operations. The general said the U.S.-led coalition must remain in a major combat role in Iraq.
"We are working hand in hand with our coalition partners in all parts of the country," Austin said. "They have improved significantly, but we've been clear about saying that they're not there yet."
Austin said Iraq's military and security forces must be capable of the following tasks before they could be deemed autonomous. He cited integrated fire support, logistics self-sufficiency, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance as well as operations planning.
The Government Accountability Office has gone further and asserted that Iraq has failed to meet many of the deadlines set by the United States in 2007. GAO, regarded as the watchdog agency of Congress, said the Iraqi military and police were mostly dependent on the U.S.-led coalition.
The GAO report said only 10 percent of Iraq Army battalions were capable of operating independently in counter-insurgency operations. The Defense Department reported that 70 percent of Iraqi units were taking what officials termed the lead in operations.