Officials say Iraq plan needs time

BAGHDAD -- The US ambassador and top American commander in Iraq are set to leave their jobs with security no better than when they arrived, and they cautioned yesterday against expecting significant success in quelling the violence soon.

Nearly a week after President Bush announced that he was sending 21,500 more American troops to Iraq -- 17,500 of those to Baghdad -- the commander, General George Casey, said he did not expect significant results until the summer and fall.

It was the first time he offered a timetable for the new security plan.

"As with any plan, there are no guarantees of success, and it's not going to happen overnight, but with sustained political support and the concentrated efforts on all sides I believe that this plan can work," Casey told a news conference.

"I think you'll see a gradual evolution over the next two to three months, and then you'll see things continue to get better up through the summer and fall. It'll take some time," he said.

The general said the new troops had already begun to arrive but he declined to say when the operation would begin. He said reports that 4,000 US troops had reached Baghdad were "a little high."

US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, who joined Casey at the podium, said Washington was not imposing deadlines on the Iraqi government.

He also said he understood why Iraqis were wary about putting their faith in another security operation -- the third aimed at restoring peace in the capital since Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki took office in May.

Sectarian violence has increased since the Feb. 22 bombing of a Shi'ite mosque in Samarra, and the United Nations has said as many as 100 Iraqis die violently each day.