Top general not discouraged by U.S. progress

updated 8:09 p.m. ET Oct. 24, 2006

WASHINGTON - The top American general said Tuesday he is not discouraged by what other U.S. commanders have described as disappointing progress in securing Baghdad, but he predicted no quick turnaround.

Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Pentagon news conference that his optimism about Iraq’s future is based on his belief that most Iraqis want peace and stability. He also said Iraqis have plenty of incentive to halt the sectarian violence that threatens to tear their country apart.

“The great incentive inside of Iraq with the Iraqi people is their own self-pride and determination that they want to stand on their own; they want to be free; they want to determine their own way ahead,” Pace said.

While military commanders may not be discouraged, Republicans fighting to keep control of Congress are frustrated with the lack of progress in Baghdad so close to the Nov. 7 elections.

In a letter released Tuesday, 33 House Republicans urged Bush to send into Baghdad any proficient Iraqi units available. Five of the Republicans — Reps. Thelma Drake of Virginia, Marilyn Musgrave of Colorado, Geoff Davis of Kentucky, Rob Simmons of Connecticut and John Doolittle of California — are in tight political races.

“It is crucial that both the U.S. and Iraqi governments recognize that as the battle in Iraq has intensified, so has the need to send Iraqi battalions into the heart of battle,” the lawmakers wrote. “Now is exactly the time to do so.”

A call for faster action
President Bush’s national security adviser said Tuesday the Iraqis are starting to make the tough decisions needed to halt rising sectarian violence, but must do more quickly.

Stephen Hadley said Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and the fledging government are starting to take steps aimed at quelling the rising sectarian violence and moving Iraq toward prosperity and peace.

“I think they’ve got to do more and they’ve got to do it faster,” Hadley said in a radio interview at the White House. “And I think if you talked to Prime Minister (Nouri) al-Maliki he would say, to you, the same thing.”

With just two weeks until a crucial Election Day at home, the White House wants to ease political anxieties about security in Iraq. But at the same time it has rebuffed calls for a dramatic policy shift in the wartorn nation.

U.S. officials in Iraq said Tuesday that government leaders there have agreed to develop a timeline by the end of the year for progress in stabilizing Iraq and reducing violence that has killed 300 Iraqi troops during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan alone.

U.S. officials: Iraqi control in 12-18 months
At a news conference, Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander, and U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said Iraqi forces should be able to take control of security in the next 12 to 18 months with minimal American support.

“Iraqi leaders have agreed to a timeline for making the hard decisions needed to resolve these issues,” Khalilzad said. “President Talabani has made these commitments public. The United States and its coalition partners will support Prime Minister Maliki and others in their effort to meet their benchmarks.”

Casey also said he felt the United States should continue to focus on drawing down the number of American forces in the country, adding that he would not hesitate to ask for more troops if he felt they were necessary.

“We’re not making the progress we would like and that’s why we have to look at what we are doing and see what we need to change to get the kind of progress that we need,” Hadley told National Public Radio. “You don’t need a timetable to be able and willing to say to the Iraqis, ‘Look, if this is going to work and succeed, you have to step up and make some very difficult choices.’”

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