Iraq’s top military commander meanwhile continues to warn that his troops won’t be ready for a planned US withdrawal next year. Speaking at a military conference in Baghdad, Lieutenant General Babakir Zebari repeated his contention that the Iraqi armed forces will need US backing until 2020.

Lt. Gen. Babakir Zebari: “The US military will be here for advice and backing, but in very special cases they will be ready to defend the Iraqi army, because they control the Iraqi spaces as our air force is not complete yet. The US has 50,000 actual combat troops, but the problem will be after 2011. So, we have to work with the Americans, the West or the regional countries, because the Iraqi army will be ready in 2020.”