Iraqi and US Transition Moving Along

An Iraqi soldier practices patrolling near Diwaniya. After initial 'hiccups,' according to one American commander, Iraqi authorities are handling the transition of power smoothly.

Its good news and I can imagine the issues as 150,000 troops pulled back and hundreds of thousands stepped up. With that said these guys have years working together often in the most brutal of circumstances so I am not surprised its working out:

WASHINGTON (July 21, 2009) – Several weeks after American forces in Baghdad handed over security leadership to their Iraqi counterparts, friction is giving way to a smoother transition of power, a top U.S. commander in the Iraqi capital said.

Maj. Gen. Daniel Bolger, commander of Multi-National Division - Baghdad, Tuesday described “hiccups and friction” that followed the American withdrawal from Iraqi cities in accordance with the June 30 deadline.“Despite those initial frustrations, it seems to be going well,” he told reporters at the Pentagon, adding: “I think each day that goes by we get a little bit better at working together.”

A bilateral deal between Washington and Baghdad governing the status of U.S. forces in Iraq called for American troops to withdrawal from Iraqi cities and villages ahead of this month as Iraqi forces assumed authority in these areas. But the legislation also allows for Americans to provide assistance in some situations to Iraqi forces in cities.

While most U.S. facilities have moved outside cities -- drawing down from hundreds of large and small bases around Baghdad at the height of the troop surge in 2007 to a number in the low tens — a residual American force of 1,500 - 3,000 remain in cities, Bolger said.Some have described instances where the implementation of the so-called Status of Forces Agreement has led to confusion on the ground.

“There have certainly been some scenes where an American or an Iraqi commander have to come out of their vehicles and walk up and figure out what’s going on,” Bolger said, adding that physical confrontations between American and Iraqi counterparts has not occurred.“What we’ve got is folks on the ground trying to make sense of it as they carry out their tasks,” he added.

During a briefing at the Pentagon yesterday, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said he received an optimistic assessment from Army Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the top American commander in Iraq.He said that the level of cooperation and collaboration with the Iraqi security forces is going much better than is being portrayed publicly and in the media,” Gates said. He added, “It is perhaps a measure of our success in Iraq that politics have come to the country.”

Good work!