Iraqi army's capabilities a mixed bag

WASHINGTON — The number of Iraqi army battalions judged by their American trainers to be capable of fighting the insurgency without U.S. help has slipped from one to none since September, Pentagon officials said Friday.

But the number of Iraqi battalions capable of leading the battle, with U.S. troops in a support role, has grown by nearly 50 percent. And the number of battalions actually engaged in combat has increased by 11 percent from 88 last September to 98 now.

The U.S. military says its short-term goal is to train more Iraqi units to a level where they can lead the fight, since that allows U.S. troops to focus on other tasks besides combat and could reduce U.S. casualties.

However, the Iraqi military will have to reach a level of full independence to take over the battle and allow U.S. troops to withdraw.

When Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in September that the number of Iraqi battalions capable of fighting independently of U.S. troops had dropped from three to one, the news triggered an uproar among Democrats arguing for an early exit from Iraq.

The size of an Iraqi battalion varies but usually numbers several hundred.

In a new report to Congress assessing the Iraq situation, the Pentagon also asserted Friday that the insurgency is losing strength, becoming less effective in its attacks, and failing to undermine the development of an Iraqi democracy.

The report was written last week, before the bombing of a Shiite shrine and a wave of deadly reprisal attacks. It is the third in a series of reports that Congress requires from the Pentagon every three months.

The report claimed important successes against the insurgency and said the term "insurgency" is not necessarily appropriate because the cooperation among various rebel elements "is breaking apart."

The report asserted that the insurgents have alienated most ordinary Iraqis.