Gates unsure over Iran role for drop in attacks

Manama: US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said he came away from his visit to Iraq feeling 'very good about the direction of things in the security arena.' His top US commander in the country described a 60 per cent decline in violence there in the past six months.

Both Petraeus and Gates said that it is too soon to tell what has caused the drop, or whether Iran is living up to its promise to the Iraqi government to try to stem the movement of arms and extremists into Iraq.

Open question

"I think that is still an open question," said Gates, who spoke to reporters after he toured the USS Vicksburg, a guided-missile cruiser that has been patrolling the Arabian Gulf, but docked in Bahrain.

"They clearly have made some commitments to the government of Iraq and I think we're waiting to see."

Gates will be attending a regional security conference here in Manama, and he said he expects that 'Iranian behaviour in a number of areas will clearly come up during the conversations.'

Petraeus also noted that the military has detained individuals as recently as October who were trained by Iranians, evidence the instruction has continued.

Gates met for an hour Thursday with his top US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, after spending two days holding talks with Iraqi officials and military commanders in both Baghdad and up north in Mosul.

The Pentagon chief said the Iraqi government now must take advantage of the improved security and move toward needed political reforms.