"If the US pullout comes early, our Iraqi forces have prepared for this," defence ministry spokesman Major General Mohammed al-Askari told AFP.

"Our forces have been readying for this mission since last year and we are fully capable of handling security without relying on US forces. We only need US air support and intelligence," Askari said.

On Wednesday, Obama said he had told top military commanders to make the necessary plans for a "responsible" withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.

"I asked the military leadership to engage in additional planning necessary to execute a responsible military drawdown from Iraq," Obama said in a statement a day after being sworn in as president and commander-in-chief.

The president said he issued the instructions in a meeting with the US ambassador to Iraq, the US military commander in Iraq, the commander for the region and top cabinet and national security officials.

During his campaign for the presidency, Obama promised to bring all US troops out of Iraq in 16 months. But he said he would listen to the advice of the commanders, and has narrowed the drawdown pledge to combat troops.

Obama, who opposed the Iraq war, has said he wants to redeploy thousands of combat troops from the country to Afghanistan, where conditions have deteriorated and which he says is the prime front against Al-Qaeda.

However, the top US commander in Iraq, General Raymond Odierno, has pressed to keep a large force in Iraq at least through this year because of fears that security gains there could fall apart.

Security throughout Iraq has improved dramatically over the past year, although attacks still happen regularly in Baghdad and provinces such as Diyala and Nineveh, where Al-Qaeda linked insurgents remain active.

US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker on Thursday told reporters in Baghdad that although tremendous progress had been made, big challenges remain.

"A precipitous withdrawal runs some very severe risks," he said. "Al-Qaeda is incredibly tenacious. As long as they hang on they are looking for the opportunity to regenerate."

The US military is taking a back seat to an increasingly large Iraqi force made up of 560,000 policemen and 260,000 military personnel, with US logistical and air support on request.

According to the Pentagon, 142,000 American troops are deployed in Iraq and 33,000 in Afghanistan.

Under an agreement signed between Washington and Baghdad in November, the US military is slated to withdraw its combat troops from Iraq by the end of 2011 and must have them out of cities by the end of this June.

General Askari said contingency plans were already made that last year, for fear that a troop deal would not be reached before a UN mandate expired on December 31.

"Our forces were ready to take responsibility for security operations in 2008 because we thought there would be no signing of security agreement."

Iraq won a number of concessions in the November agreement, including the right to search US military cargo and the right to try US soldiers for crimes committed off-duty and off their bases.

The agreement also requires that US troops obtain Iraqi permission for all military operations, and that they hand over the files of all detainees in US custody to the Iraqi justice system.

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