BAGHDAD — The Iraqi government has begun acquiring command of the
nation's armed forces.
Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki signed an agreement in which his
government acquired control of the navy, air force as well as the Iraq
Army's 8th Division. Officials said the handover ceremony on Thursday was a
major step toward Iraqi sovereignty.
"From today forward, the Iraqi military responsibilities will be
increasingly conceived and led by Iraqis," U.S. military commander Gen.
George Casey said.
[The handover of military authority came as the U.S. military presence
in Iraq rose to 145,000, the highest level in 2006, Middle East Newsline reported. The U.S. Defense
Department said the spike in troop deployment was temporary.]
Officials said as commander-in-chief, Al Maliki would have direct
control over the armed forces. For the last three years, the post-Saddam
Hussein army and police received orders through the U.S.-led Multinational
Forces in Iraq.
"They had proved, through rigorous operation, that they [8th Division]
were ready," Maj. Shawn Stroud, a coalition spokesman, said. "They were the
unit that was fully prepared to do so through training, readiness and
experience."
In the first stage, officials said, Al Maliki would have direct control
only over the 8th Division, based in southern Iraq. By early 2007 the prime
minister was expected to command all 10 army divisions.
"They can move as rapidly thereafter as they want," chief U.S. military
spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said. "I know, conceptually, they've
talked about perhaps two divisions a month."
Officials said the U.S. military would still provide combat air and
ground support as well as logistics to the 8th Division. They said the
division could require another year until it achieved self-sufficiency.
For his part, Caldwell said six of 10 Iraq Army divisions were in the
lead in their
areas of operations. He said 26 brigades and 88 battalions from those
divisions were also in the lead.
"They're maintaining the lead in coordinating, planning and conducting
security operations in the area in which they're operating," Caldwell said.
"With more and more Iraqi security forces in the lead, the number of
counterinsurgency operations being conducted by Iraqi security forces, with
coalition forces in support, continues to increase steadily."
