New US Iraq commander says may need three years

BAGHDAD, Jan 8 (Reuters) The new commander of US combat forces in Iraq said on Sunday it may take two to three years to meet American goals but that an increasingly independent Iraqi government may change the US role there within a year.

Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, who took up the second ranking US military post in Iraq a month ago, told reporters the American public would need patience to see a stable Iraq but also said he hoped Iraqi troops could be in control of Baghdad within months after a new operation mounted with US help.

Speaking ahead of Washington's expected announcement of a new approach in Iraq, Odierno said: ''The mission now is to defeat the ... insurgency and to train Iraqi security forces.

''Over time we can accomplish the mission. That time I put two or three years from now. The issue becomes are we willing to wait two or three years or do we want to speed it up?'' He said: ''It takes patience and it takes time ... Unfortunately what we're starting to show some lack of is patience ... I think it's too important not to have patience.'' Among constraints, he said, was a possibility the Iraqi government would in December change the United Nations mandate under which the United States has charge of Iraq's security.

Saying Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had nearly changed the annual mandate last month, Odierno said: ''They almost did it this time and I think by next December there's a good potential that could happen ... They more and more want to move toward independence and so they might put some conditions on it.

Asked if that could even mean a US withdrawal, he replied: ''I don't know. That all depends.'' US commanders have said they hope to complete a transition to Iraqi control of all of Iraq's 18 provinces and of its army by this autumn, with U.S. troops remaining in a support role.

SECTARIAN BALANCE With the rise in sectarian bloodshed between the majority Shi'ite Muslims now driving the government and Saddam Hussein's once dominant Sunni Arabs, Odierno said political and economic measures were as necessary as military ones to bring stability.

The government needed to represent all communities and the security forces need to be rid of sectarian elements, he said.

Amid accusations of sectarian violence by Iraqi police and troops, Odierno said Americans would continue to try to ensure Iraqi commanders were controlling their forces and maintain a presence on the ground to ensure civilians were well treated.

He said Maliki, who in November publicly demanded more power over security issues from Washington, and his government were still coming to grips with their task.

''They're a very new government. It's unclear to me yet what kind of government this is going to be,'' he said. ''It's unclear to me that you have a leader that ... is strong ... It'll be defined over time. Because you do need a strong leader.'' Many Sunnis complain Maliki has not done enough to curb militia killings by his fellow Shi'ites but Odierno said he had seen no evidence of government efforts to prevent US troops attacking Iranian-backed Shi'ite militia groups. Some of these were receiving arms, including rockets, made in Iran, he added.

US hopes were for a stable, friendly government in Iraq, Odierno said, but the problems of fighting insurgents meant there would be no clear end to the conflict: ''There will be no victory parade when we leave here. There never was going to be.'' Washington would not, however, count it a success if stability was achieved by a new dictatorship: ''We cannot tolerate that in my mind, but we're going to have to see.

''If that happens we are not successful.'' REUTERS PDM MIR RAI0950