More Troops In Iraq, But Success Will 'Take Time'

USA TodayJanuary 16, 2007 Pg. 9
More Troops In Iraq, But Success Will 'Take Time'
First of extra 21,500 vowed by Bush arrive
By Rick Jervis, USA TODAY
BAGHDAD — The new security plan for Iraq will need time to take hold and may not yield significant results for several months, the outgoing U.S. commander there cautioned Monday.
Gen. George Casey told reporters that some of the 21,500 additional U.S. troops President Bush promised for Iraq last week have already begun arriving.
However, their success in calming sectarian violence will depend on better cooperation from Iraq's military and police and broad support from Iraqi politicians that has been lacking, Casey said.
"As with any plan, there are no guarantees of success, and it's not going to happen overnight. But with sustained political support, and the concentrated efforts on all sides, I believe that this plan can work," Casey said at a joint news conference with the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad.
"I think you'll see a gradual evolution over the next two to three months, and then you'll see things continue to get better out through the spring, out through the summer and fall. But it will take some time," Casey said.
Both Casey and Khalilzad repeatedly said they had assurances that no areas of Baghdad would be allowed to serve as sanctuaries for gunmen. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has until now been hesitant to enforce crackdowns on some militias, including the Mahdi Army of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, one of al-Maliki's key political supporters.
The drive to secure Iraq is likely to fail without strong backing from al-Maliki, said Stephen Biddle, a military analyst at the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations.
"The issue is whether the different states' interests are aligned," Biddle said. "If they're not, it's a serious, serious problem. And it's not at all clear if the Maliki interests and the U.S. interests are aligned."
Casey said the new security plan will give al-Maliki unprecedented power at the top of the command structure, though U.S. troops will still be under control of American commanders.
"(The plan) is Iraqi-conceived and will be Iraqi-led — not only on the security side but on the political, economic and media/public affairs sides," Casey said.
Casey and Khalilzad also said that five Iranian citizens arrested by U.S. forces Thursday in Irbil, in Iraq's northern Kurdish region, were "intelligence agents" working to undermine the government and target coalition troops.
Iran has said the men were diplomats and demanded their release.
"These gentlemen were not diplomats," Khalilzad said, adding they had ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, a paramilitary force that answers directly to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. "We have an understanding with the prime minister that we'll target these networks."
Casey said: "We have statements made by people in detention, and we have records that give us great confidence that these are, in fact, intelligence operatives."
At least 55 people were killed or found dead across Iraq on Monday, according to the Associated Press. The U.S. military announced the deaths of two more soldiers, both killed in Baghdad.