U.S. handing over lead on Iraq patrols

BAGHDAD — The role of the U.S. military in Iraq over the next year could look a lot like the scene of a joint U.S.-Iraqi military patrol in a northwest Baghdad rail yard this weekend.

Iraqi police talked with property owners, broke locks and led the way through about 40 buildings at the compound. The Americans followed with tools the Iraqis lacked, such as bomb-sniffing dogs and an explosives team. A team of U.S. military police advisers was there, too, to look for things the Iraqis could do to improve their tactics.

The operation was part of the plan for the United States to reduce its presence in Iraq and turn over more authority to the Iraqi government, outlined in the new security agreement between the countries that will take effect Jan. 1. The agreement calls for U.S. forces to withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011.

"Unless we enhance their ability to secure their own environment, we'll never leave," said Lt. Col. John Vermeesch of Roscommon, Mich., who commands the 1st Battalion of the 18th Infantry Regiment, part of the 1st Infantry Division based at Fort Riley, Kan., which assisted the Iraqis in the rail yard search.

His battalion already is implementing many of the provisions of the security agreement, which requires the U.S. to clear its military operations with Iraqi leaders in advance, get warrants to detain Iraqis and pull its combat troops out of urban areas by next June.

Those changes will limit the U.S. military footprint in Iraq and make room for the two countries to build on "hard-earned gains" in security, Army Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, wrote in a letter to his soldiers last week.

The rail-yard search was planned by the Iraqi National Police and a U.S. infantry company in Vermeesch's battalion. Vermeesch said the U.S. unit keeps its Iraqi counterparts informed of its plans and withholds information only about the movements of high-ranking officers and supply runs.

The Iraqis say they're eager to take on more responsibility and contend they're prepared to manage much of their own defense.

"We started to take the first step years ago," said Iraqi National Police Gen. Abdul Karim Farha Sharhad, who helped plan the rail-yard search. "We've become bigger and bigger. Now I can tell you we're ready to take over."

Some U.S. military and civilian officials, however, question whether the Iraqis are prepared and equipped for the challenges ahead.

While Iraq's parliament debated the U.S. security agreement, Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi and others identified key vulnerabilities in the nation's security, such as Iraq's lack of a navy or air force to defend itself from its neighbors.

Sharhad said violence is unlikely to return to 2006 and 2007 levels, despite several recent suicide attacks in Fallujah and Mosul.

"In my opinion, the special groups, militias and thugs will have their last breath within six months," he said.

U.S. military officers agree Iraqi public opinion is turning against sectarian violence, but they have some reservations about the strength of the Iraqi security forces.

In April, the special U.S. Inspector General for Iraq raised questions about a shortage of experienced officers among Iraq's police and military. His report also said the Iraqi security forces lack a reliable supply network.