"We will continue to monitor the situation, and as Iraqi troops take over more of the territory we will be able to back away and reduce our troop levels," Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said.

The sharp reduction in U.S. troops has taken place despite rising sectarian violence in Iraq. Officials stressed that the Bush administration has decided to allow Iraqi troops and police to confront the violence.

At the same time, officials have been careful not to commit to any withdrawal timetable. Administration and military spokespeople have denied a withdrawal timetable and said U.S. troops levels would depend on security conditions in Iraq.

Over the last few weeks, military and government spokespeople have stressed the Iraqi contribution to the war against Sunni insurgents. On March 24, Iraqi and U.S. forces launched Operation Scorpion, a hunt for insurgents in the Kirkuk area in northern Iraq.

So far, two Iraq Army divisions, 13 brigades and 49 battalions have been assigned responsibility for their areas of operation. Officials said two brigades and six battalions of the national police have also been authorized to protect their battlespace.

On March 20, the Iraq Army's 1st Mechanized Battalion, 1st Mechanized Brigade assumed control of an area north of Baghdad from the U.S. Army's 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division's Special Troops Battalion. The Special Troops Battalion has assumed such roles as reconstruction and essential services.

"Since we are no longer responsible for the battlespace that we had, that's a company that does not have to return to Iraq and is freed up to do something else," U.S. Army Maj. David Patton, the operations officer for the 1st STB, said. "Now we manage 73 projects valued over $38 million throughout the Raider Brigade area. We will continue to be very busy."

By July 2006, Iraqi security forces would be responsible for security along all 3,631 kilometers of Iraq's borders, Lt. Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, commander of Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq, said on March 24. He said that by 2007, Iraqi security forces would be responsible for 75 percent of the country.

"We are as resolute in transitioning Iraqi staffs into the lead in headquarters and ministries as we are in transitioning Iraqi commanders into the lead in the field," Dempsey said. "It's important to note that our Iraqi counterparts are eager for the responsibility."

So far, Dempsey said, half of the Baghdad area has come under responsibility of Iraqi security forces. He said that so far the responsibility of Iraqi forces has been largely limited to relatively safe areas.

"The battlespace that has been handed over is, to some degree, in those parts of the country that have achieved a level of security both because of the capability of the security forces, but also because there's less threat," Dempsey said. "That point begins to lose its validity as we continue to hand over space. And 75 percent of Iraq certainly will include more than a few parts of it that are both heavily populated and very contested."

Officials acknowledged that the weak element in the Iraqi security forces continues to be the police. Last week, at least 14 officers were killed near Tikrit when about 300 Sunni insurgents stormed the government complex in the Diyala province.

"Now, I'll tell you, it's important to note that the Iraqi police are standing their ground, when in fact, in my last tour here that just simply wasn't the case," Dempsey said. "If they were attacked in the front of the building, then they exited through the back of the building, and the police station and all the equipment tended to be lost. But that hasn't been the case for a long time over here."

Print this Article

Email this article

Free Headline Alerts