The 1000th death in combat

US Marines hear President George W. Bush's speech at Camp Pendleton, California. Picture / Reuters

BAGHDAD - On a cool, bright morning in Baghdad yesterday, an insurgent opened fire on a US patrol, killing a soldier who became the 1000th to die in combat since the invasion last year.

A brief statement issued by the US Central Command in Florida, said: "One Task Force Baghdad soldier died of wounds received." It added that his name was being withheld until his next of kin were informed.

The death of the 1000th US soldier in combat - as opposed to those who have lost their lives in accidents, by suicide or other means - underlines the increasingly precarious security situation in Iraq ahead of elections scheduled for next month.

Such an assessment received further confirmation by the publication of a classified memo produced by the CIA's station chief in Baghdad.

The report, obtained by the New York Times, warned the security situation was likely to get worse unless the interim Iraqi Government can assert its authority and build the economy.

It is unknown whether the cable made any mention of the actions of the US troops in adding to the violence and chaos and the mounting civilian death toll.

Indeed, the American ambassador to Iraq, John Negroponte, is believed to have written a dissenting report, objecting to one finding as being too harsh on the grounds that the US had made more progress than was described in combating the Iraqi insurgency.

It is clear, however, that the recent battle for Fallujah has failed to break the back of the resistance.

A further 275 US troops have died in accidents or other incidents not classified as being killed in action.

The American death toll rose sharply during the US assault in Fallujah, with 71 Americans killed.

A total of 9765 US troops have been wounded.

Estimates of civilian deaths range from tens to hundreds of thousands. There are no official figures.

President George W. Bush yesterday sought to boost the morale of US troops facing extended deployments by promising to train Iraqi forces to replace them. He acknowledged only mixed results so far.

The President made clear he expected a tough road ahead and stopped short of offering timetables.

While the offensive in Fallujah "dealt the enemy a severe blow", Bush said the insurgents who used the city as their stronghold would "keep on fighting", and offered a more cautious assessment of Iraqi troops than he has in the past.

"Some Iraqi units have performed better than others," Bush told thousands of camouflage-clad Marines at Camp Pendleton in California. "Some Iraqis have been intimidated enough by the insurgents to leave the service to their country."

But Bush said "a great many are standing firm", and the US would continue training Iraqi security forces "so the Iraqi people can eventually take responsibility for their own security".

He touted a new Nato training programme and said efforts were under way to "develop a core of well-trained senior and mid-level Iraqi officers" to lead them.

Bush flew a round-trip of more than nine hours from Washington to give a 30-minute speech at Camp Pendleton, which has had one of the highest casualty rates in Iraq of any US military base.

After his speech, he met families of soldiers killed in action.

Since the US Army invaded Iraq on March 19, 2003 it has been very effective against regular forces fighting in a conventional manner, like Saddam Hussein's army, whose elderly tanks and artillery were no match for US armour and air power.

But the US has suffered heavy losses to guerilla attacks and bombings since Saddam's downfall.

The Army is also highly dependent on frequently ambushed supply columns and protecting them eats up manpower.

The 138,000 US troops in Iraq are to be increased to 150,000 for the Iraqi election on January 30.

US commanders were clearly correct in warning before the war that a much larger number of troops would be needed for an occupation.

The shortage of US troops meant that Fallujah was never wholly surrounded and many fighters escaped.

The US has been trying to train Iraqi units, but the only ones which show a willingness to fight have been Kurdish troops and in some cases Shia Muslims, exacerbating tensions with Sunnis.

- INDEPENDENT with additional reporting from Reuters