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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Elroy who wrote (226853)	3/29/2005 4:43:02 AM
From: tejek	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1573351

Official sees Iraqi forces in control in 18 months By Traci Carl Associated Press March 29, 2005 BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's outgoing interior minister predicted Monday that his country's emerging police and army may be capable of securing the nation in 18 months, saying his officers are beginning to take over from coalition forces. Interim Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib's comments came as security was heightened in the already heavily fortified Green Zone, where the National Assembly will hold its long-awaited second session today to choose a parliament speaker and two deputies. Negotiators haggled over who would get the parliament speaker job, considering interim President Ghazi al-Yawer. They hope the inclusion of Sunni Arabs like him in the new government will help quell the Sunni-led insurgency. But al-Yawer turned down the post and instead asked the Shiite-led United Iraqi Alliance for the vice president's post, said Ali Faisal, political coordinator for the Shiite Political Council, which is part of the alliance. Al-Naqib predicted that militants will target today's National Assembly meeting -- only the second since the parliament was elected nearly two months ago in the nation's first free election in 50 years. The lawmakers met March 16 but repeatedly have postponed a second meeting because of negotiations over Cabinet positions. Roads were blocked off Monday, and security was tightened around the area, already surrounded by concrete blast walls and barbed wire. Several mortar rounds slammed into the banks of the Tigris River, just short of the Green Zone. Al-Naqib outlined progress by the country's fledgling security forces, predicting that U.S. troops would be able to begin slowly pulling out of parts of the country, and that "hopefully, within 18 months at the most we will be capable of securing Iraq." "We hope that next summer, there will be a huge reduction in the numbers of multinational patrols," he said. "In some cities, there will be no foreign troops at all." Al-Naqib gave no timeline for a complete U.S. withdrawal, something U.S. officials have repeatedly said hinges on the security situation in Iraq and the wishes of the Iraqi government. He said Iraqi police had better intelligence on local insurgents and criminal gangs that have flourished since the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion, helping reduce the number of casualties caused by car bombs and other attacks. "I think it will collapse very soon," he said of the country's insurgency. The interior minister added that Iraq's most-wanted terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, "has been surrounded in more than one area, and we hope for the best." Al-Zarqawi's organization has claimed responsibility for kidnappings and killings across Iraq. In an interview Sunday with CNN's "Late Edition," Army Gen. John Abizaid, the commander of U.S. Central Command, said Iraqi forces had made progress although challenges remained. "By the end of 2005, provided the political process continues to be successful, you will see the Iraqis more and more in charge . . . some areas completely in charge," Abizaid said. indystar.com