Iraq takes over command of armed forces

Coalition forces handed over control of Iraq’s armed forces command to the government today, a move US officials have hailed as a crucial milestone on the country’s difficult road to independence.

“From today forward, the Iraqi military responsibilities will be increasingly conceived and led by Iraqis,” said the top US commander in Iraq, General George Casey, at a ceremony to mark the event.

Prime Minister Nouri Maliki and Casey signed the document, which puts the prime minister in direct control of the country’s military. Maliki now has complete control over the country’s small navy and air force, and of the 8th Iraqi Army Division, based in the south.

“The Iraqi Army today is rebuilt again away from sectarian violence,” Maliki said at the ceremony.

Yesterday, US military spokesman Major General William Caldwell had described the ceremony as “a huge, significant event” that was “gigantic” in its significance.

Handing over control of the country’s security to Iraqi forces is vital to any eventual drawdown of US forces there.

After disbanding the remaining Iraqi army following the US-led invasion in 2003, coalition forces have been training the new Iraqi military.

However, it is unclear exactly how quickly Iraqi forces will be able to take over the entire country.

“It’s the prime minister’s decision how rapidly he wants to move along with assuming control,” Caldwell said yesterday.

“They can move as rapidly thereafter as they want. I know, conceptually, they’ve talked about perhaps two divisions a month.”

The 8th Division was recently in the centre of a fierce battle between Iraqi forces and Shiite militias.

The division’s troops fought militiamen in the southern city of Diwaniyah, 80 miles south of Baghdad, for 12 hours in a battle that left more than 20 soldiers and 50 militiamen dead.

Days before the engagement, the division’s commander, Brigadier General Othman al-Farhoud, said his forces still needed support from the US-led coalition for things such as medical assistance, storage facilities and air support.

“In my opinion, it will take time,” al-Farhoud said when asked how long it would take before his division was completely self-sufficient.

Politicians have been optimistic.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said earlier this week in a meeting with visiting British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett that fighting in Iraq will have abated by the end of 2007, and that Iraqi forces will be able to handle any remaining violence.

British troops handed over control to Iraqi authorities of the southern Muthanna province in July, and Maliki has said another southern province, Dhi Qar, is to follow this month.