Odierno: Declaring victory in Iraq muddled

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Declaring victory in Iraq may take years, if at all, said U.S. Army Gen. Ray Odierno, commanding general of the international coalition force.

Odierno said he wants to withdraw U.S. forces sooner than planned if the security situation permits, CNN reported Friday. During a news conference in Washington Thursday, Odierno said he expected the number of U.S. troops in Iraq to drop to 120,000 by the end of October, and to as few as 110,000 by the end of 2009.

"What we've done here is we're giving Iraq an opportunity in the long term to be a strategic partner of the United States, but more importantly, be a partner in providing regional stability inside of the Middle East," Odierno said.

But he said he was unsure about when -- or whether -- victory could be declared.

"I'm not sure we will ever see anyone declare victory in Iraq, because first off, I'm not sure we'll know for 10 years or five years," Odierno said.

Discussing security issues in Iraq, Odierno said Iraqi security forces recently seized several "very large" caches of Iranian-made rockets and armor-piercing munitions.

"If you're training people ... in Iran to come back into Iraq, and you're providing them rockets and other things, I call that significant because it still enables people to conduct attacks not only on U.S. forces but on Iraqi civilians," Odierno said.