The military buildup in Iraq is about to end. But as the last of the five additional combat brigades now heads home, it leaves the country far safer than it was a year ago. Yet it's still not ready to stand alone. The departure of the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division will lower U.S. troop levels there to roughly 142,000 U.S. troops by mid-July - at least 7,000 more than before the buildup began. But it also sets up pivotal election year questions about how many more can come home this year, and whether the decline in violence can be maintained by the fledgling Iraqi security forces. A report due out Monday is expected to lay out significant political, economic and security progress in Iraq - with some violence statistics down by more than 80 percent over last year's numbers. Attacks against coalition forces and civilians have dropped and Iraqis have been turning in weapons caches at record rates. Still, a U.S. commander in Baghdad acknowledged Monday that the Iraqi troops remain dependent on coalition support for logistics, surveillance and intelligence, and nowhere in Iraq can they do the job completely alone. "There are no areas ... that we would be willing to separate out right now to dedicate specifically to the Iraqi security forces," said Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin, "We've been clear about saying that they're not there yet. There are still some things that need to be done." Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Sta ...
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