BAGHDAD, March 4 (UPI) -- The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff described the security situation as improved but "tenuous" during his recent trip to Iraq.
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen toured neighborhoods and a market in Baghdad on his tour, meeting with Iraqi security officials and representatives from the Sunni-led Sons of Iraq security force, the American Forces Press Service said.
"You can see that security is dramatically improved, but the security environment is tenuous," Mullen said. "It is going to take a sustained period of time to make sure that security will strengthen itself."
He said the Iraqis he met with expressed frustration over the lack of coordination between the Iraqi central government and local and provincial leaders.
Mullen said he toured the area to get a better assessment of the situation on the ground before top military leaders brief U.S. officials on the progress in Iraq in April.
While Mullen described the situation in Iraq as "very, very positive," he stressed that U.S. forces must remain committed to Iraq for "a significant period of time."
"The concern is that if (the Iraqis) assume control too early and they are not prepared for it, it will flip back to the way it was, and it will flip pretty quickly," he said.
