Iraqi forces 'cannot stand alone'
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Iraq's security forces will not be able to take over from US troops within the next 18 months, a new report finds.
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WASHINGTON - Iraq's security forces have made "uneven progress" and will be unable to take over security on their own in the next 12 to 18 months, according to an independent assessment.
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Insurgent attacks have risen in western Iraq but Iraqi troops are beginning to take responsibility for a bigger area of Iraq's most troubled province, the top Marine commander in Iraq said Wednesday.
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The senior US general in Iraq expresses concern about the ability of Iraqi forces to cope with election security.
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Analysis: It has been clear for some time that the U.S. is not in control of events in Iraq. But the latest sectarian bloodshed suggests that even help from Iran and Syria  may not be enough to stop the slide into chaos
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BAGHDAD -- General David Petraeus assumed control over US forces in Iraq yesterday, saying that the "rucksack of responsibility" was too heavy to carry alone there and that without cooperation between Iraqi and US forces, "Iraq will be doomed to continued violence and civil strife."
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Iraqi security forces should be in a position to take control of 14 of Iraq's 18 provinces by year's end, although they will not be ready to fight on their own for some time, a top U.S. general said on Sunday.
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Nine of 18 provinces are now under Iraqi security forces. But central and southern Iraq face a vicious power struggle between Shiite parties and militias.
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BAGHDAD -- A top US military commander in Iraq called for more Iraqi troops to police troubled areas yesterday, a day in which at least 26 people were killed in attacks on civilians and police across the troubled nation.
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Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the situation in Iraq is &quot;difficult&quot; before explaining that this meant foreign troops had a duty to remain the country.
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British troops could be sent to some of Iraq's most volatile areas to back up US forces, the BBC learns.
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American troops face "significant challenges" in western Iraq's volatile Anbar region -- the deadliest province for U.S. forces -- but military efforts there are secondary to the priority of quelling sectarian unrest in Baghdad, the second-ranking U.S. commander in Iraq said yesterday.
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In Iraq on Friday, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld witnessed a wide variety of special forces, commando, police and regular military units that are learning how to take over the fight against the resilient insurgency.
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Iraqi forces, whose performance is crucial to securing January elections, are riddled with problems, say local U.S. officials.
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A US commander in Iraq warns against early troop withdrawals, despite growing calls for a pullout.
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The Iraqi government said on Thursday it was ready to take over security in southern Iraq once Britain withdraws 1,600 troops in the coming months, but insisted that British forces would still be needed for support.
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WASHINGTON -- Iraqi insurgents and their informants have been infiltrating US and coalition organizations, Iraqi security units, and political parties in growing numbers, posing a daunting challenge to efforts to defeat the guerrillas and create a stable Iraqi state, according to US military officials, Iraq specialists, and a new study of Iraqi security forces.