In a news conference on March 10, Wolff said the results of the Iraqi
election would not be linked to a U.S. rapid troop withdrawal. He said he
did not envision a scenario in which political instability in Iraq would
hamper the pullout schedule set by President Barack Obama in 2009.
"At this point, no," Wolff said. "I'm pretty confident that they can
continue to secure the government of Iraq and the Iraqi people. There's no
doubt in my mind that they can do that exceptionally well. And as the next
government settles in, they're more than up to the task, and they
demonstrated that."
Officials said most of the Pentagon and Joint Chiefs of Staff support
the launch of a rapid pullout from Iraq in an effort to enhance the NATO-led
stability operation in Afghanistan. They said the remaining American troops
in Iraq would be responsible for stability operations, which would include
training and support for the Iraqi military.
"We have worked very hard with the government of Iraq during this
caretaker government to try to ensure that security will remain," U.S.
military commander in Iraq, Gen. Raymond Odierno, said. "And I believe we
will be able to do that through this critical period."
Officials have acknowledged election violence, which included numerous
Al Qaida attacks near polling stations. But they said Al Qaida failed in
suicide operations, which had resulted in the largest number of casualties.
"Although there was some violence, most of it was low-level violence,"
Odierno said. "We had no suicide bombs, no suicide vests. Unfortunately,
there were some buildings that were destroyed that killed some Iraqis. But
for the most part, security was very good."
In a U.S. television interview, Odierno said all U.S. forces would be
withdrawn from Iraq by the end of 2011. The general said the only thing that
could derail the U.S. plan was what he termed a catastrophe. He did not
elaborate.
The Pentagon said 98,000 troops were deployed during the Iraqi
elections. Officials said many of these troops have already completed the
transition from security to stability operations ahead of the September 2010
deadline, when all combat troops were meant to leave Iraq.
Officials said the transition has been facilitated by the expansion and
enhancement of Iraq's military and security forces. The army has more than
220,000 soldiers and the police more than 400,000, with many units trained
and mentored by U.S. advisers.
"There are aggressive operations every day and every evening to deal
with terrorists and extremists that try to have an impact on the Iraqi
people," Wolff said. "So it's not as if we're all sitting on our operating
bases and doing nothing. There's this belief at times that no one's doing
anything; that 96,000 soldiers are just kind of waiting for something to
happen."