Iraqi CI Group Operates With Limited U.S. Aid

BAGHDAD [MENL] -- An Iraqi counter-insurgency agency was said to have
achieved the ability to operate with limited U.S. assistance.
Officials said the Iraqi National Counterterrorism Force has improved
its capability in 2008 and was conducting numerous operations without direct
U.S. help. They said the force, which consolidates and coordinates
counter-insurgency missions, would soon be able to conduct most missions
without outside assistance.
"They're comfortable, at this point in time, doing unilateral
operations, even without some of our enablers," U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Simeon
Trombitas, head of the transition team for the force, said. "I think that
they're well on the road to conducting the majority of their operations."
Officials said the primary mission of the force has been to synchronize
and focus Iraqi units to defeat Al Qaida and other insurgency groups. The
Iraqi unit was formed in 2003 and has since been trained by the U.S. Special
Forces.