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New US Iraq commander says may need three years
BAGHDAD - The new commander of US combat forces in Iraq said on Sunday it may take two to three years to meet American goals but that an increasingly independent Iraqi government may change the US role there within a year.Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, who took up the second ranking US military post in Iraq a month ago, told reporters the American public would need patience to see a stable Iraq but also said he hoped Iraqi troops could be in control of Baghdad within months after a new operation mounted with US help. Speaking ahead of Washingtons expected announcement of a new approach in Iraq, Odierno said: The mission now is to defeat the ... insurgency and to train Iraqi security forces. Over time we can accomplish the mission. That time I put two or three years from now. The issue becomes are we willing to wait two or three years or do we want to speed it up? He said: It takes patience and it takes time ... Unfortunately what were starting to show some lack of is patience ... I think its too important not to have patience. Among constraints, he said, was a possibility the Iraqi government would in December change the United Nations mandate under which the United States has charge of Iraqs security. Saying Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki had nearly changed the annual mandate last month, Odierno said: They almost did it this time and I think by next December theres a good potential that could happen ... They more and more want to move toward independence and so they might put some conditions on it. Asked if that could even mean a US withdrawal, he replied: I dont know. That all depends. US commanders have said they hope to complete a transition to Iraqi control of all of Iraqs 18 provinces and of its army by this autumn, with US troops remaining in a support role.
Posted by: Steve White 2007-01-08 |
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