Only one-third of Iraq's trained security forces are able to combat insurgents across the country, and the United States will intensify its efforts to train Iraqi forces, top Pentagon officials said Thursday.
General Richard Myers, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that about 136,000 Iraqi security forces have been trained and equipped so far. But only " about 40,000 can go anywhere in the country and take on any threat. "
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said Iraqi security forces have made an enormous contribution toward keeping the country safe, but much work "clearly needs to be done."
He said the Pentagon plans to maintain 135,000 troops in Iraq through this year, with some 15,000 troops, whose deployments were extended for the Jan. 30 election, expected to go home shortly.
President George W. Bush in his State of the Union address on Wednesday night pledged to intensify efforts in training Iraqi security forces.
"We will increasingly focus our efforts on helping prepare more capable Iraqi security forces -- forces with skilled officers, and an effective command structure," Bush said.
Myers estimated that there were about 1,000 "foreign fighters" operating in Iraq.