Pat Dollard | Young Americans

You know, I really hope we bring this whole thing to a non-issue by election time, this whole “I will end this war” crap from Hussein is MOOT.

BAGHDAD - Iraq hopes to have security control of all its provinces by the year-end, the national security adviser said on Wednesday, underscoring the government’s growing confidence in its own forces.

National security adviser Mowaffaq al-Rubaie was speaking at a ceremony where U.S.-led troops handed security responsibility for southern Shi’ite Qadisiya province to Iraqi forces.

The handover puts Baghdad in control of security in 10 of the country’s 18 provinces, all mainly Shi’ite or Kurdish areas.

“We aspire to reach to the 18th province before the end of this year. God willing, all provinces will be under the control of the Iraqi security authorities before the end of this year,” Rubaie said in a speech broadcast on state-controlled Iraqiya television from the Qadisiya capital of Diwaniya.

U.S. military officials have been much more cautious about timeframes for handing back security control of some of the remaining provinces, especially in the north and also Baghdad.

But the growing confidence Iraqi leaders have in handling their own security affairs was shown last week when Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki suggested that a timetable be set for the withdrawal of U.S. soldiers in Iraq.

(Reuters)