General Pittard: Handing over security control 'not a main priority'; At least 2 more years needed

Above: Iraqi Army soldiers undergo training at a U.S. base near Baghdad in May.

Major military offensives and a changed focus on increasing security have slowed efforts to train Iraqi forces to take control of Iraq, the top U.S. training official said.

Brig. Gen. Dana Pittard said U.S. troop levels could start to decrease next spring, but the Iraqis will need U.S. support for at least two more years...

"Transitioning [to Iraqi control] is not a main priority, but it's still a priority," Pittard told USA TODAY in an interview Thursday.

Iraqi security forces have been fighting in major offensives around Baghdad and in Diyala province, which has given them combat experience but slowed their progress in other areas, such as logistics.

"I think it's just temporary," Pittard said. "We're not seeing the kind of progress we've seen in the past. … I think we'll see it in the future"...

A Pentagon progress report to Congress last month said 346,500 Iraqi police and soldiers have received training out of the objective of 370,000. The report cautioned that not all of those trained are the same "as those present for duty."

Read the rest at USA Today

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