Google USA TODAY - BAGHDAD — U.S. troops could pull back to Baghdad's outskirts in a matter of months if Iraqi forces step up security, the new commander of U.S. combat forces in Iraq said Sunday.
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno said it could be years before Iraqi forces can assume complete responsibility for the country's security. But a new security thrust in Baghdad could put Iraqi forces in the lead role by summer or fall, while U.S. troops provide support from outside the capital, he said.
"If you ask me where I want to be three to four months from now, I want (Iraqi security forces) operating in Baghdad and we are on the outskirts of Baghdad, providing support," he said.
Odierno, 52, recently replaced Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli as the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq. He will answer to Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, who is replacing Gen. George Casey as the top U.S. commander in Iraq.
Odierno's remarks came as President Bush prepared an overhaul of U.S. strategy in Iraq. The revision, to be announced this week, could boost the number of U.S. troops in the country from the current 132,000.
Ahead of Bush's announcement, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki unveiled on Saturday a major security plan for Baghdad. He promised to root out militias "regardless of sect or politics."
Odierno said Sunday that the massive Iraq-U.S. security operation underway in Baghdad since summer has not succeeded.
"We were able to clear areas. We were not able to hold the areas," he said. "You have to go after both (Shiite) and Sunni neighborhoods, and (Operation) Together Forward was focused mostly on Sunni neighborhoods."
U.S. commanders have complained that al-Maliki's Shiite-led government has prevented them from targeting Shiites involved in the violence, including officials close to anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Odierno called for a "balanced approach" targeting extremists of both sects. The new strategy would consist of clearing neighborhoods of insurgents and patrolling those areas heavily; creating more jobs; launching provincial elections; and outlawing militias, he said.
"Unfortunately, we're starting to show a lack of patience. And I understand why," said Odierno, whose son, Army Capt. Anthony Odierno, lost his left arm while on combat duty in Baghdad. "But I think the outcome here is too important not to have patience."
Violence continued as Odierno spoke to reporters Sunday:
•Three U.S. airmen working for a bomb-disposal team were killed by a car bomb in Baghdad, the U.S. military said.
•A senior Education Ministry official survived a roadside bomb attack, but gunmen killed three Sunni shopkeepers and a Finance Ministry guard in drive-by shootings, Baghdad police said.