"From what I see here on the ground, they are in charge, and we are making progress," U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hunzeker, commander of the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team, said.

This was the first time a senior U.S. officer asserted that the Iraqi police has become independent. Hunzeker, a former commander of the 1st Infantry Division, assumed control of Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq's CPATT in October 2006.

Since 2003, Hunzeker said, coalition forces have built or refurbished nearly 500 police stations, 21 National Police and emergency response units, 272 border sites, and 11 of 13 police academies. The general said Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad Bolani, who dismissed 3,000 officers, has helped restrict "sectarian behavior" among police.

"Today, the Iraqis are in control of their police stations and their academies," Hunzeker told a briefing on March 23. "The Iraqi police have made significant progress during the past four years."

Officials said the U.S. military helped organize and equip Iraqi police for Operation Law and Order in Baghdad, launched in February. The mission, known in Arabic as Fardh Al Qanoon, has divided the Iraqi capital into 10 districts and created joint security stations in the city.

"When you look at the architects of the Fardh Al Qanoon, [you see] that every zone is given an Iraqi army unit paired with an Iraqi police unit to take advantage of the capabilities of both those organizations," Hunzeker said. "They've task-organized within each one of those sectors, to take the advantages of the strengths and weaknesses of both organizations."