Gates Gives Gentle Prod To Iraqi Government

Tuesday, June 5th 2007, 7:17 am

By: News On 6

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) _ Defense Secretary Robert Gates gave the Iraqi government a gentle prod Tuesday to move faster toward political reconciliation during the American troop buildup in Baghdad.

``We would certainly be happier if there were faster progress on the political front,'' Gates told reporters during a joint news conference with Kyrgyz Defense Minister Ismail Isakov. He noted that the Iraqis had missed a May 31 deadline for passing a hydrocarbons law _ one of many political obstacles yet to be overcome.

Gates was asked whether it appeared to him that U.S. and Iraqi forces were making slower-than-expected progress in establishing security in Baghdad neighborhoods, as news reports have indicated in recent days. He said he had not seen any early projections by Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, of how many neighborhoods were expected to be cleared of insurgents by this point.

``So I'm not in a position to judge whether that is faster or slower than General Petraeus anticipated,'' he said. ``If it's slower it's clearly because al-Qaida and others are trying to make as much difficulty as possible for us and for the Iraqi government.''

Petraeus, meanwhile, said it was too early to judge whether the U.S. counterinsurgency push, which required the addition of about 30,000 extra U.S. troops, is working. ``We haven't even started the surge, the full surge, yet so I'll answer that in September,'' when he is scheduled to report to Washington on the operation, he said.

``In about two weeks or so we'll have all of the forces for the surge, all the combat forces, on the ground and you're going to see the launch of a number of different operations in a number of areas to go after al-Qaida and other extremist elements,'' Petraeus said in an interview aired Tuesday on CBS' ``The Early Show.''

Since the troop buildup began in January, the U.S. casualty rate has increased substantially.

``General Petraeus has been pretty clear from the beginning that this was going to be a difficult process,'' Gates said.

Gates noted that Petraeus ``has been pretty clear from the beginning that this was going to be a difficult process,'' Gates said, referring to the counterinsurgency campaign, which required the addition of about 30,000 extra U.S. troops.

Gates applauded the effort of Iraqi security forces, saying they are suffering casualties at twice the rate of U.S. forces.

``Their willingness to fight and die for their country is not in doubt,'' he said.

Gates stopped in Bishkek to consult with Kyrgyz officials about the U.S. use of an air base outside the capital, where U.S. cargo and refueling planes are stationed for operations related to the war in Afghanistan. U.S. soldiers also transit through the Manas air base on their way to Afghanistan. Gates was in Afghanistan on Monday.