U.S. General: Iraqi Forces to Be Fully Ready in '09
Liberals aren't gonna be able to lose this war.
Lt. General James P. Dubik, pauses in this Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2004 file photo, during a promotion ceremony at Fort Lewis, Wash. (Ted S. Warren - AP)
By Ann Scott Tyson and Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, July 10, 2008; Page A11
Iraq's army and police will be fully manned and operational by mid-2009, possibly as early as April, the top U.S. general in charge of building Iraqi security forces said yesterday, signaling the prospect that Iraqi forces could assume primary combat responsibilities in the country while U.S. troops shift to a supporting role.
Asked when Iraqi ground forces could handle security so U.S. troops would not have to, Lt. Gen. James Dubik told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that the strength of Iraq's ground forces had grown significantly. "The ground forces will mostly be done by middle of next year; their divisions, brigades and battalions are on a good timeline," Dubik said in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee. "Could be as early as April. Could be as late as August," said Dubik, who until last week led the effort to train Iraqi forces.
While U.S. commanders' predictions on Iraqi security forces have proven excessively optimistic in the past, the general's assessment is central to the debates in Washington and Baghdad over a timeline for when Iraqi forces can take charge of security, allowing the bulk of the approximately 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq to withdraw.
Dubik's projection came as Iraqi leaders this week pressed for a firm timetable for the departure of U.S. troops as part of a long-term security agreement the two countries are negotiating.
Iraqi spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in Baghdad on Wednesday that a U.S. pullout could be completed in several years. "It can be 2011 or 2012," he said. "We don't have a specific date in mind, but we need to agree on the principle of setting a deadline."
The White House said yesterday that while the administration remains opposed to "arbitrary" timetables for withdrawal, it is considering whether to agree to a long-term goal for U.S. troops to leave Iraq depending on security conditions.
"We'd like to have a date that we can reach for as a goal when coalition forces can make this transition, but it should be based on ground conditions," said White House spokesman Tony Fratto. "Our negotiators have been able to discuss general time horizons and goals like that."
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Iraqis are "handling much of their security today," Dubik said, noting that nine of 18 Iraqi provinces are under Iraqi government control, with little involvement of U.S. troops. "That movement toward their responsibility will continue," he said. Of the more than 140 Iraqi battalions, he said 12 are capable of independent operations and rated at the highest level of readiness, while 90 others are rated at the second highest level and are "fighting well."
As a result, the U.S. military effort is shifting from combat to providing intelligence, air power, command and control, artillery and other support that will likely be needed long after its combat role diminishes. Dubik estimated it may take until 2012 to develop the Iraqi air force and navy and establish border security.
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