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Mullen touts stunning progress in Iraq
BAGHDAD The US militarys top officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, on Tuesday said a planned drawdown of US troops in Iraq was on track, citing stunning progress in security over the past three years.Before arriving in Baghdad, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff told reporters on his plane that Iraqs military and police had proven themselves over the past year. Based on briefings from US commanders, Mullen said the Iraqi forces are ready to take full responsibility for security in the country as American forces are scaled back to a 50,000-strong mission. He said the Iraqi troops are performing in the lead exceptionally well. Ive seen their response in various situations where violent attacks have occurred. And their response has really been good. He recalled grim days during the peak of sectarian violence three years ago, when there was great despair about where all this was going. Mullen said the progress since 2007 represented truly a stunning achievement. He added at a press conference in Baghdads heavily-fortified Green Zone: We are on track to reduce the number of American forces here in Iraq to 50,000 or less by the 1st of September. I see absolutely nothing to negatively impact that. Posted by: Steve White 2010-07-28 |
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