Iraqi Army Chief: Troops Not Ready
The Daily Telegraph reports that Iraqi army officials have expressed doubts their troops will be ready before American soldiers leave the country.
Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman, said President Obama was satisfied with the progress Iraqi troops had made.
"We're on target by the end of the month to end our combat mission. Already we have removed over 80,000 troops from Iraq since President Obama took office," he said.
His comments come after Lt Gen Babakir Zebari, Iraq's top army officer, said that his country's troops will not be fully trained until 2020 and that they would not be able to cope without the support of the Americans.
Thousands of combat troops will leave Iraq at the end of the month under President Barack Obama's exit strategy. It will leave a small force of 50,000 troops in a support and training role but they will leave by the end of 2011.
But violence in the country has escalated sharply and there are signs that al-Qaeda has stepped up its activities with a series of attacks.
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