Iraq elections focus of U.S. military

BAGHDAD, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- The focus of the U.S. military effort in Iraq will be to help secure the parliamentary elections scheduled for January, U.S. military commanders said.

Iraqi lawmakers on Sunday passed amendments to a national election law following weeks of political wrangling. Iraq is scheduled to hold elections Jan. 21 using a ballot that lists the names of candidates in the election. The earlier law required only party names on the ticket.

U.S. Army Col. Gregory Lusk, commander of the North Carolina National Guard's 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, told reporters during a briefing via satellite that military efforts would focus on securing the polls.

"With the recent passing of the election law, Iraq has indeed reached an important milestone," he said. "All of our efforts since our day of arrival have been dedicated towards accomplishing this goal and setting the conditions and supporting the Iraqi desires for holding these important elections."

Delays in passing the amendments threatened to derail the U.S. military schedule to pull out of Iraq under the terms outlined in a bilateral security pact signed in November 2008.

There are around 120,000 U.S. troops deployed in Iraq currently. That number is expected to drop to roughly 50,000 by the end of July according to the security agreement.