The U.S. military has reported an 80 percent decline in attacks in Iraq
since June 2007 — from 1,200 to 200 per week. Officials said this has
included a 70 percent decrease in roadside bomb attacks and an 85 percent
spike in the number of weapons caches seized by U.S. and Iraqi troops.
"There are no areas that we would be willing to separate out right now
to dedicate specifically to the Iraqi security forces," Lt. Gen. Lloyd
Austin, the No. 2 U.S. military commander said.
In a June 23 teleconference from Iraq to the Pentagon, Austin, commander
of Multinational Corps Iraq, said the Iraq Army and security forces could
not be deployed on their own in any part of the country. He said Iraqi
forces remain dependent on the U.S.-led coalition for logistics and
intelligence.
The United States plans to withdraw five combat brigades, or about
16,000 troops, by August 2008. At the same time, U.S. commanders would
determine whether the American military presence in Iraq could be further
reduced to under 140,000 soldiers.
The U.S. military has reported an 80 percent decline in attacks in Iraq
since June 2007 — from 1,200 to 200 per week. Officials said this has
included a 70 percent decrease in roadside bomb attacks and an 85 percent
spike in the number of weapons caches seized by U.S. and Iraqi troops.
"While the improved security is a great achievement, we clearly
understand that our progress is fragile, and we continue to work to make
this progress irreversible," Austin said.
So far, nine of Iraq's 18 provinces have been nominally under the
control of the Baghdad government. The U.S.-led coalition has been
repeatedly summoned to assist in major operations.
Iraq, officials said, was about 10 years away from an autonomous
military that could defend against external enemies. They said the Interior
Ministry was working on a plan to complete development and deployment of a
counter-insurgency force by 2012.
Officials said the U.S. military continues to identify Al Qaida as the
primary threat in Iraq. They said Al Qaida remains active in northern Iraq
and around Baghdad.
"Even though we assess that they are on the run, they are still capable
of launching spectacular attacks," Austin said. "As a result, our operations
in the north are focused on defeating their capability to perform these
attacks. We continue to aggressively pursue Al Qaida and to take away their
safe havens and to close off all their escape routes when they try to flee."
Austin, however, stressed that the Iraqi security forces, despite
significant progress, were not prepared to assume day-to-day operations. The
general said the U.S.-led coalition must remain in a major combat role in
Iraq.
"We are working hand in hand with our coalition partners in all parts of
the country," Austin said. "They have improved significantly, but we've been
clear about saying that they're not there yet."
Austin said Iraq's military and security forces must be capable of the
following tasks before they could be deemed autonomous. He cited integrated
fire support, logistics self-sufficiency, intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance as well as operations planning.
The Government Accountability Office has gone further and asserted that
Iraq has failed to meet many of the deadlines set by the United States in
2007. GAO, regarded as the watchdog agency of Congress, said the Iraqi
military and police were mostly dependent on the U.S.-led coalition.
The GAO report said only 10 percent of Iraq Army battalions were capable
of operating independently in counter-insurgency operations. The Defense
Department reported that 70 percent of Iraqi units were taking what
officials termed the lead in operations.
