U.S. sees Iraqis in control in Baghdad in a year

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces in Baghdad hope to turn over responsibility for security in most of the Iraqi capital to Iraqi forces in about a year, the chief of staff of the American military in the city said.

The remarks by Colonel Allen Batschelet describe a smaller role for the U.S. military in Baghdad after the next U.S. president takes over from George W. Bush in January.

"We anticipate transitioning the majority of Baghdad city into a tactical overwatch by the time of our division's departure in early spring (2009). We believe that is attainable," Batschelet wrote in an e-mail interview with Reuters.

"We do foresee the Iraqi security forces able to attain a level of sustainable security in much of Baghdad by early spring," said Batschelet, chief of staff to Major-General Jeffery Hammond, commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad.

U.S. commanders characterize "overwatch" as an arrangement under which they withdraw from day-to-day patrolling, but keep rapid response forces nearby in case they are needed.

So far, security control in half of Iraq's 18 provinces has been transferred to Iraqi authorities, mainly in the Shi'ite south and Kurdish north. Baghdad, home to a quarter of Iraq's population, has long been expected to be one of the last.

Although Batschelet declined to discuss future troop strength, U.S. and British forces have in the past withdrawn substantial numbers of troops from areas where they have placed Iraqis in charge and switched to the "overwatch" posture.

U.S. commanders have committed to withdrawing 20,000 troops from Iraq by July, reducing numbers to around 140,000. Further cuts will be considered after an assessment of security.

The U.S. division responsible for Baghdad now includes a quarter of the U.S. combat divisions in the country. It was the main focus of last year's "surge" of additional U.S. forces into Iraq, although its force is already expected to decline when the surge units go home over the next four months.

COMBAT OUTPOSTS

Under the strategy begun last year, U.S. forces have moved off large bases and into 23 small Combat Outposts (COPs) and 52 Joint Security Stations (JSS), where U.S. platoons operate alongside Iraqi police and army units.

That process is still continuing, with 15 more such outposts to be opened over the next six months, Batschelet said.

As neighborhoods are handed over to Iraqi control, U.S. forces will maintain a presence at those stations in the more volatile parts of the city, he added.

"We do foresee transitioning responsibility for areas within Baghdad, neighborhood by neighborhood. However, there will remain JSS and COPs in areas that criminal activity persists in order to provide the close support that we are doing now for the Iraqi Security Forces."

U.S. and Iraqi leaders credit the strategy of moving larger numbers of troops into the smaller outposts with helping to sharply reduce violence in the city over the past year.

But the last three weeks have seen an increase in fighting in Shi'ite areas, especially in eastern Baghdad, after U.S. and Iraqi forces launched a crackdown on followers of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

Batschelet said despite fighting in those areas, West Baghdad's mainly Sunni Arab areas remained quiet. Those include areas that saw some of the worst violence last year.

"We hope to assist the provincial and local leadership and Iraqi security forces in bringing the same stability and security to parts of eastern Baghdad," Batschelet said.

(Editing by Ralph Boulton)