Iraq sees less need for foreign forces
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Iraq's government on Tuesday welcomed long-awaited testimony to Congress by the U.S. commander in Iraq and said it would have less need for foreign forces to carry out combat operations in the "near future".
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BAGHDAD -- Iraq's interim government complained yesterday that the United Nations isn't doing enough to help prepare for January elections, saying the organization has sent fewer electoral workers than it did when tiny East Timor voted to secede from Indonesia.
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Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki declared Saturday that Iraqi forces could secure the country on their own âany timeâ American troops decided to withdraw.
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Iraq's interim government complained Wednesday that the United Nations isn't doing enough to help prepare for January elections, saying the organization has sent fewer electoral workers than it did when tiny East Timor voted to secede from Indonesia.
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Iraq's army and police could be ready to take over security in all 18 provinces by the end of this year as the U.S. military moves toward a less prominent role in the country, U.S. officials said on Thursday.
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The debate in Washington over troop numbers is intense. But in Baghdad, there's been little sense of alarm or urgency among the Iraqi politicians who would have the most to lose if the United States decides to begin a major pull back.
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Polish Prime Minister Marek Belka said on Friday that his country plans to reduce the number of its troops in Iraq from early next year and will not stay &quot;an hour longer than needed.
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Poland will reduce its commitment of forces to the war in Iraq by 40 percent by the end of 2005, the Polish Defense Ministry in Warsaw says.
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Iraqi forces will protect polling places during the coming elections, but there are far fewer trained security officers than needed.
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It&#039;s a coalition of the dwindling. The U.S.-led multinational force in Iraq is losing two of its most important allies &amp;#151; Italy and South Korea &amp;#151; and up to half a dozen other members could draw down their forces or pull out entirely by the end of the year.
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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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The number of UK troops in Iraq by the end of 2007 is expected to be lower "by thousands", the defence secretary says.
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Iraqi civilian deaths dropped to their lowest level since the start of the Baghdad security operation, government figures showed Sunday, suggesting signs of progress in tamping down violence in the capital.
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The United States on Thursday handed   over formal command of the Iraqi army to Prime Minister Nuri   al-Maliki's government, a significant step toward the   withdrawal of about 150,000 U.S.-led foreign troops.
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The US should reduce troop presence in Iraq so as not to appear an "occupying force", a key report says.
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The U.S. military said on Sunday there had been a dramatic drop in the number of Iranian weapons being used in Iraq but no let-up in Tehran's training and financing of Iraqi militias.
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Iraq has become a magnet for foreign  terrorists since the U.S.-led invasion last year and there are  not enough troops to cope, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Britain  said on Thursday.