"The force footprint should be adjusted in our view to represent an expeditionary capability and to combat a permanent-force image of today's presence," said retired Marine Corps Gen. James Jones, who led the 20-member commission.
"The force footprint should be adjusted, in our view, to represent an expeditionary capability and to combat the permanent force image of today's presence," Jones told the Senate Armed Services committee.
"This will make an eventual departure much easier," he said.
Jones, however, said he personally would not support setting a deadline for troop withdrawals.
"I think deadlines can work against us," Jones said. "I think a deadline of this magnitude would be against our national interest."
Asked by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Tex., about the effects of a pullout before Iraq could defend itself, Jones said that a "precipitous departure" that left Iraq as a failed state "will have a significant boost in the numbers of extremists, jihadists … in the world, who will believe that they have toppled the major power on earth and that all else is possible."
The panel, which was charged by Congress to determine the readiness of Iraqi security forces and police, reported "uneven progress" and said widespread sectarian violence will only be dramatically reduced if the Iraqi government achieves political reconciliation.
At one point, Sen. John Warner, R-Va., asked Jones directly if he would agree that "the failure of the Iraq politicians, the national leaders, to reach political agreement is costing American lives and American casualties."
Jones: "I would agree with that and I would also add that it is costing Iraqi lives as well."
The panel's report is one of several that are being presented to Congress and the White House this month as the Bush administration considers the impact of its decision in January to send more than 25,000 additional U.S. troops to Iraq to provide breathing room for the Iraqi government to made political reforms.
According to Jones' study, the Iraqi military comprises more than 152,000 service members operating under the Ministry of Defense, while the Ministry of Interior oversees some 194,000 civilian security personnel, including police and border control.
The study said that the Iraqi Security forces, including the army, special forces, navy and air force, are "increasingly effective and are capable of assuming great responsibility for the internal security of Iraq."
It singled out the special forces as "highly capable and extremely effective."
But it said the troops would still be dependent on U.S. troops for logistical and material support and that Iraqi forces would be unable to take over security responsibility for the country in the next 18 months.
The report was sharply critical of the Iraqi police. It said the Minister of Interior, which oversees the police, is "a ministry in name only."
"It is widely regarded as being dysfunctional and sectarian, and suffers from ineffective leadership," the report said. "Such fundamental flaws present a serious obstacle to achieving the levels of readiness, capability and effectiveness in police and border security forces that are essential for internal security and stability in Iraq."
It recommended disbanding the national police outright and starting over.
Contributing: The Associated Press