Full Iraq handover 'by 2009'
US general says full handover of security responsibilities in Iraq will not be possible until 2009.
Friday, 18, Jan 2008 05:14
A full handover of security responsibilities in Iraq will not be possible until 2009, the US general in charge of training local forces has said.
Speaking at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee, Lieutenant General James Dubik explained that a reduction in the number of American troops present in Iraq was dependent on the country's own security forces.
Any attempts to reverse president George Bush's 'surge' strategy - which injected 30,000 new troops into the wartorn country last year - would be hampered by the inexperience of local organisation, Lt Gen Dubik said.
"The Iraqi security force structure and capability still lack some maturity," he was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying. "They cannot fix, supply, arm or fuel themselves completely enough at this point."
Lt Gen Dubik also suggested that Iraqi forces would not be capable of protecting their nation from external threats until at least 2018.
His comments followed suggestions from US secretary of defence Robert Gates that a roll-back of US troops would begin later this year.
Mr Gates told journalists his intelligence reports indicated the completion of draw-down operations in July.
"It remains my hope that the pace of the draw-downs in the second half of the year can be what it was in the first half of the year," he added.
He stressed that the readiness of any withdrawal depended on an assessment of the Iraqi forces' readiness by General David Petraueus, the top US general in Iraq.
"One of the things that's very much on General Petraeus's mind is where we stand in training and equipping the Iraqi army and the importance of handing over responsibility to the Iraqi army," he said.
"Ultimately the mission will be one of what we call strategic overwatch, which is basically that we are not engaged on a daily basis, the Iraqis in the lead and we are providing support," he said.
"We have begun that process of transition."
It is hoped that the US force will be reduced from 160,000 to 130,000 by July.