U.S. military teams in charge of training and mentoring Iraqi national forces said the M1 will be sent in shipments of 35 over the next 18 months, though it was unclear if they were donated or acquired under the Foreign Military Sales program, the American military newspaper Stars and Stripes reports.

The independent online Long War Journal reported in December that Iraqi troops would train on the M1 at the Besmaya Range Complex east of Baghdad. Iraq's army had under Saddam Hussein used the Russian T-72 tank.

"The first (Iraqi) regiment will begin full-scale training in December of 2010," said Charles Campbell with the U.S. military's transition team. "From there, we would instruct and train on how to support and sustain these tanks."

The Journal report said the total number of purchases of the M1 and the BMP-1 amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicles suggests there will be 60 armored battalions in the Iraqi army.

The move to the M1 follows an effort by the U.S. military to upgrade Iraqi military equipment to more advanced and modern weaponry. The Iraqi army announced plans recently to purchase some 125,000 M-16 rifles to replace the AK-47.

U.S. issues last SOI payment
The U.S. military in Iraq has transferred its final payments to the Sons of Iraq paramilitary force as Baghdad prepares to assume responsibility for the group.

"This is one of the many milestones that the (Iraqi government) is hitting day by day," U.S. Army Capt. Justin Michel said. "This transfer is a necessary step that the (Iraqi government) is taking to show its citizens that it is taking the lead on more programs."

SOI emerged from the Sunni-led Awakening Councils, a tribal political entity that helped drive al-Qaida from Anbar province in 2005. Baghdad plans to transfer 20 percent of the group into national security forces, with the rest going into vocational programs backed by the government.

The U.S. military had paid SOI members about $250 per month. U.S. military officials said that although Baghdad would control the program, they would serve in an oversight role to make sure the transition goes smoothly.

The Iraqi government assumes responsibility over the program April 1.

Zebari lauds ties with Iran
Diplomatic ties between Iran and Iraq are developing at an accelerated rate despite lingering acrimony between the two nations, the Iraqi foreign minister said.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari spoke with London's Asharq al-Awsat newspaper on the role Iraq can play in the region as it recovers from six years of war.

Zebari said that despite animosities stemming from the Saddam Hussein regime and from the eight-year Iran-Iraq war, both countries were working together to bring Iraq back into the international community.

"The relations between Iraq and Iran are developing," he said.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have suggested the United States may reach out to engage Iran following years of isolation under President George W. Bush. The foreign minister said Baghdad welcomed the move as a sign that long-held tensions in the region were thawing.

"With regard to Iran, as Clinton and the Obama administration have said, they are in favor of opening a dialogue with Iran, and Iraq supports this move because we believe it would be beneficial," he said.

Baghdad said it is preparing to welcome Clinton to the country "soon" to meet with top Iraqi officials.

Afghan institutions needed to combat terrorism
The Washington strategy to curb the swell in militant activity in Afghanistan cannot take place without a robust domestic civilian infrastructure, an analysis said.

The counter-terrorism strategy employed by former U.S. President George W. Bush put too much emphasis on taking on al-Qaida and spent little effort on boosting Afghan civilian institutions, leaving Afghanistan unable to counter militant pressures, the International Crisis Group said.

The report said Afghanistan would gain the confidence needed to take on its own internal problems if robust institutions were in place that are held responsible to the rule of law.

U.S. President Barack Obama said recently America is not winning the war in Afghanistan, announcing a strategy to court moderate Taliban elements and boost the U.S. presence there by roughly 17,000 troops.

"Jihadi extremism in Afghanistan cannot be defeated unless the Obama administration adopts new political, economic and military policies that empower Afghan civilian institutions," the Crisis Group report said.

Dutch to host Afghan conference
At the request of the United States, the Netherlands said it would host a U.N. conference on the future of Afghanistan at The Hague on March 31.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will preside over the Afghan conference with Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen acting as host, the government of the Netherlands said.

Though in the preliminary planning stages, Radio Netherlands reports that Verhagen said the overall objective would be to find ways to prevent the rising Taliban insurgency and the militant activities in tribal areas along the Pakistani border.

"The point is that Afghanistan should not regress into being a refuge for terrorists, nor should human rights be violated there," he said.

The conference follows statements from Washington saying the mission in Afghanistan requires a major overhaul. U.S. President Barack Obama has called for increasing the troop presence in Afghanistan by 17,000 and suggested courting moderate elements of the Taliban to reverse declines there.

The Netherlands, for its part, has played a role in Afghanistan since current operations began there in 2001, and NATO forces in southern Afghanistan are operating under a Dutch general.

Iran key to Afghan peace
Stabilizing the security situation in Afghanistan cannot take place unless Washington pursues an Iranian effort in the mission there, a Pakistani analyst said.

Retired Pakistani army Lt. Gen Talat Masood told Iran's official Islamic Republic News agency that Iran is positioned strategically in the region to play a major role in developments in Afghanistan.

"Iran can play a major role in many ways," he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said earlier this month that Iran may be invited to take part in an international conference on Afghanistan scheduled at The Hague, Netherlands.

Iran had played a role in the mission in Afghanistan, moving against the Taliban regime and the opium trade.

Iranian officials said they would consider the U.S. invitation, adding that Tehran was ready to play a helpful role for the Kabul government.

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