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Iraqi PM says forces will be ready

"We say with full confidence we are able, God willing, to shoulder the complete responsibility in administering the security portfolio if the international forces withdrew, at any time they wish."

Nuri al-Maliki, Iraqi prime minister

Iraq will be ready to take over security from US forces "any time" they withdraw, although its police and army still need more training, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in remarks over the weekend.

US public opinion has turned firmly against the war and lawmakers voted last week to bring combat troops home soon.

Maliki told a news conference on Saturday he was serious about improving the quality of the country's police and army "so the forces can be better prepared ... when international forces decide to reduce their numbers or withdraw."

At that time, Iraq's forces would be up to the task.

"We say with full confidence we are able, God willing, to shoulder the complete responsibility in administering the security portfolio if the international forces withdrew, at any time they wish," he said.

Iraq has around 350,000 army and police, but US commanders warn it will be months before they are ready to take over in the parts of the country where US and Iraqi forces are currently fighting militants and insurgents.

In addition, Marine Corp General Peter Pace, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Friday that war fatigue had reduced the number of Iraqi army battalions that could operate independently of the US forces to six from 10.

Unease in the US has deepened with mounting casualties and Maliki's failure to make headway on security and political goals designed to dampen sectarian violence that has pushed the country to the brink of civil war.

Meanwhile, most foreign fighters and suicide bombers in Iraq come from Saudi Arabia, despite attempts by US officials to portray Syria and Iran as the main culprits of violence, the Los Angeles Times reported yesterday.

Citing an unnamed senior US military officer and Iraqi lawmakers, the newspaper said about 45 percent of all foreign militants targeting US troops and Iraqi security forces were from Saudi Arabia, 15 percent from Syria and Lebanon, and 10 percent from North Africa

Official US military figures also show that nearly half of the 135 foreigners in US detention facilities in Iraq are Saudis, the report said.

Fighters from Saudi Arabia are thought to have carried out more suicide bombings than those of any other nationality, the paper said.

The senior US officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said 50 percent of all Saudi Arabian fighters in Iraq come as suicide bombers.
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