Iraqi forces could take the lead in the battle against insurgents within a year, Britain's defense chief said Monday. Although the battle against the insurgency could go on for years, Defense Secretary John Reid said that "in a relatively short period of time we can start the process of that being led by the Iraqi security forces themselves." "So although (U.S. Defense Secretary) Donald Rumsfeld may have said, correctly, that this may take years before it is finally completed, that did not imply that all that period will have to be led by the multinational forces or the British forces," Reid said in an interview with British Broadcasting Corp. radio. "And I personally think that within a year we could begin that transition to the Iraqi forces leading the effort themselves." Reid said that at least 12 of Iraq's 18 provinces were relatively peaceful. Rumsfeld said last week that the insurgency could go on for years. "Insurgencies tend to go on five, six, eight, 10, 12 years," he said. However, Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said during a visit to London last week that two years would be "more than enough" to establish security in his country.
