Iraq Forces Take Over control of second out of 18 Iraqi provinces.
BAGHDAD, Iraq --Iraqi forces formally took over security in a southern province from Italian troops on Thursday, making Dhi Qar the second of the country's 18 provinces to come under local control.
At a ceremony in the provincial capital, Nasiriyah, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki thanked "Italian troops for their services in helping the Iraqi troops take responsibility of security control."
Al-Maliki has said that Iraqi army and police plan to take over security for all of Iraq's provinces within the next 18 months. British troops handed over control of southern Muthana province in July.
Wait! It gets better.
DoD News Briefing with Maj. Gen. Thomas B. Turner II from Iraq - September 08, 2006
Our primary focus was, and remains, the development of Iraqi security forces capable of providing domestic order and conducting the counterinsurgency fight in Iraq.
1) When we assumed control of MND-North, only one Iraqi army battalion was in the lead, and no territory had been transitioned. Today, through the efforts of our units partnered with Iraqi units and our military transition teams embedded in Iraqi units, 35 battalions, eight brigades and two divisions of the four divisions we're partnered with have assumed the lead and have been assigned an area of operation. The other two divisions should assume their area of responsibility by the end of this year.
2) Currently, over 31,000 police have been trained, and we are on a glide-path for over 43,000 to be trained by December. Nearly a hundred police stations were constructed or renovated this year, resulting in a provincial and district headquarters for each province in northern Iraq. In addition to this improvement in police facilities, another 30 stations are currently under construction.
3) 132 border forts have been built across the north. Additionally, seven points of entry along the east and west Iraqi borders have been upgraded.
4) All of Saddam Hussein's palaces constructed in northern Iraq have been returned to the Iraqi people. Coalition forces in our area of operation have been reduced by nearly half.
5) Iraq recently resumed crude oil exports from the northern fields for the first time since the autumn of 2005. Crude oil production for the second quarter improved 18 percent to 2.2 million barrels per day, and exports improved by 20 percent.
6) Coalition and Iraqi army forces joined together to add multiple powers, outposts and headquarters structures, thus increasing the presence of security forces along the Baiji-to-Kirkuk and the Baiji-to-Baghdad power lines. All together, these efforts have doubled the electrical power available to Baghdad from the north and have allowed 7.6 million Iraqis to receive power.
7) We have worked to rebuild the critical infrastructure, education, health and public works services that the former regime neglected. Within the six provinces, Iraqi leaders have set the priorities for nearly a thousand projects worth more than $130 million. This has also allowed for the development of small businesses centers in places such as Tikrit and Tall Afar, which assist growing entrepreneurs in the development of their businesses.
Can I get an amen?