Can Iraq Rule Itself?

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Among some Administration officials, an emerging view is that a deadline set by the new government may galvanize the project to train Iraqis. So far, only about 14,000 members of Iraq's army, special-operations and urban-warfare forces have been trained. The Pentagon says it needs more than 32,000. "A timetable may be our best ally," says a State Department official. "It may actually help us get the job done right and get it done fast." And neighboring countries might be more willing to help an independent Iraq with measures like the training of security forces and reconstruction. "There may be a lot of appeal for countries to get on board with something like this because they'd be making commitments not to us but to Iraq," says the official, adding that any call for withdrawal "has to be realistic--not just pulling out."

It says something about the collapse of American illusions in Iraq that a deal along those lines with an elected government might be the closest the U.S. can get to declaring victory and heading home. For Iraqis like Karim al-Saadi, the government that is born on Jan. 30 will be judged by how it succeeds "with important things." He defines them as "security, jobs ... and getting the Americans out of our country." If nothing else, those are goals for the new government that all Iraqis can agree on. --With reporting by Christopher Allbritton/ Baghdad, Darrin Mortenson/ Najaf and Sally B. Donnelly, Elaine Shannon and Douglas Waller/ Washington

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