Politics | War general says US exit from Iraq on track | Seattle Times Newspaper: "Baghdad's political troubles won't keep American troops from leaving the country as planned at the end of 2011, the military's top commander in Iraq said Wednesday.
Gen. Raymond Odierno told reporters that the Iraqi security forces are doing much of the work already and that security has improved significantly since 2006 when an 'almost civil war' gripped the nation.
Odierno says U.S. forces haven't needed to conduct airstrikes in at least six months and that Americans are mostly operating as advisers to Iraqi forces. Al-Qaida fighters in Iraq have been cut off from their leadership in Pakistan, he said.
'There has been steady, deliberate progress across all lines,' Odierno said. 'There's clearly more to do, but a new baseline has been established.'"
