UNITED NATIONS—Iraq's foreign minister told the U.N. Security Council on Friday that Iraqi and U.S.-led forces have "turned the corner" in battling a five-year insurgency, though the improvements were "fragile."
In a speech to the 15-nation council, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said his government's security forces were better trained and equipped than ever. They now numbered nearly 600,000 and were protecting half of Iraq's 18 provinces.
"Their efforts have won them the trust and cooperation of the Iraqi people and, with the support of the multinational forces, they have turned the corner in the fight against the insurgency and terrorism in Iraq," Zebari said.
But he warned the council that Iraqi forces "still are short of being able to independently assume full responsibility for the maintenance of security in all Iraqi territory."
The U.N. mandate for the international forces in Iraq, the vast majority of which are from the United States, ends on Dec. 31. Washington is negotiating a bilateral security agreement with Iraq to cover the period once the mandate expires, but Iraq has said talks on a security arrangement were deadlocked.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad also spoke of an improved security situation five years after the U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein's government.
"It is clear that the recent improvements in the security situation throughout Iraq are significant," he said, adding that Baghdad had work to do to "sustain these gains."
Among the areas where the government must improve its performance are the delivery of humanitarian assistance and essential services to Iraqis, job creation and moving the process of political reconciliation forward, Khalilzad said.
Number of Attacks Decline
"Total security incidents have now fallen to their lowest level in over four years, notwithstanding a temporary increase in violence associated with recent Iraqi military operations in Basra, Sadr City, and Mosul," Khalilzad said.
Overall, civilian deaths due to violence has fallen by 75 percent since July 2007, while high-profile attacks like car bombings decreased in May 2008, dropping below a previous two-year low achieved in December 2007, he added.
Khalilzad said suicide bombings remained a threat, as did interference from Iraq's neighbors Syria and Iran. He repeated U.S. accusations that both countries were supporting, supplying or training insurgents in Iraq.
Zebari said Iraq's debt burden was a problem and pleaded for a "reconsideration of Iraq's compensatory obligations that increased considerably ... over the last year."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's special adviser on Iraq, Ibrahim Gambari, told the council that he, too, saw some grounds for optimism.
"There is indeed a new hope that the people and government of Iraq have started to overcome daunting challenges and to work together at rebuilding their country, after decades of dictatorship, neglect and conflict," Gambari said.
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