Odierno: 2 to 3 years needed to reach U.S. goals

BAGHDAD, Jan 7 (Reuters) - The new commander of U.S. combat forces in Iraq said on Sunday it may take two to three years to meet American goals but that an increasingly independent Iraqi government may change the U.S. role there within a year.

Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, who took up the second ranking U.S. military post in Iraq a month ago, told reporters the American public would need patience to see a stable Iraq but also said he hoped Iraqi troops could be in control of Baghdad within months after a new operation mounted with U.S. help.

Speaking ahead of Washington's expected announcement of a new approach in Iraq, Odierno said: "The mission now is to defeat the ... insurgency and to train Iraqi security forces.

"Over time we can accomplish the mission. That time I put two or three years from now. The issue becomes are we willing to wait two or three years or do we want to speed it up?"

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