WASHINGTON — The Iraq Army, in a move described as a significant,
plans to take full control of its 8th Division.
Officials said the move would ensure that all U.S.-led coalition support
to the 8th Division would be coordinated through the Iraq Army's Iraqi
Ground Forces Command. They said the shift could serve as a model for other
Iraqi military units.
U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Dana Pittard, in charge of the Iraq Assistance
Group, said the 8th Division would be the first to operate on its own. In an
Aug. 21 briefing, Pittard said that following the transition, all military
orders would be issued by IGFC, Middle East Newsline reported.
The Iraq Assistance Group oversees the teams of coalition military and
police advisers embedded in units of the Iraqi security forces. Pittard, who
served as a combat commander in Iraq from 2003 to 2005, recently returned to
Iraq to head the assistance group.
Pittard said much of the Iraq Army would achieve what he termed a high
state of responsibility and readiness by the end of 2006. He said U.S.
military
advisers were no longer pushing Iraqi military units to fight.
The general said the reduction of U.S. forces in Iraq would depend on
the operational situation in December 2006. He said embedded military
advisers
might remain in Iraq even if U.S. Army units leave the country.
Over the last two weeks, the U.S. military has sought to issue upbeat
assessments regarding the security situation in Iraq. U.S. Central Command
chief Gen. John Abizaid, who on Aug. 3 reported unprecedented violence in
Baghdad, asserted a significant improvement in Iraq's capital.
"I think there has been great progress on the security front in Baghdad
recently," Abizaid said on Thursday in Baghdad. "We are very optimistic that
the situation will stabilize."
