Bush Praises Iraqi Forces’ Improvements

President Bush says Iraqis are taking over more of the security duties in their nation, a key standard for the eventual withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

In his weekly radio address, Bush said a Friday briefing with U.S. military leaders emphasized a strategy of hunting down suspected terrorists, and the death of Abdullah Abu Azzam, considered al-Qaida’s No. 2 man in Iraq, in a raid last Sunday showed the approach was working.

Bush said Abu Azzam was among those trying to hamper the Iraqi political process.

I’m encouraged by the increasing size and capability of the Iraqi security forces, Bush said. Today they have more than 100 battalions operating throughout the country and our commanders report that the Iraqi forces are serving with increasing effectiveness.

The president has never allowed a timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal to be set, but said the ability of Iraqi forces to keep their country secure was an important part of that process.

Top U.S. generals told Congress Thursday the security situation in Iraq is too uncertain to predict large-scale American troop withdrawals soon. They said the number of Iraqi army battalions that can fight insurgents without U.S. and coalition help has dropped from three to one, but the number of troops and overall readiness of Iraqi security forces have steadily increased in recent months.