FILE - In this Thursday, April 29, 2009 file photo, an Iraqi woman passes U.S. troops and Iraqi police officers as they stand guard in the Bab al-Jadeed area of Mosul, 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, during a push through the west side of the northern Iraqi city, considered to be the last urban stronghold for al-Qaida in the country. he former top U.S. commander in northern Iraq defended the multibillion dollar American effort to train Iraqi security forces despite this week's Sunni insurgent offensive that has seen key cities occupied as soldiers and police abandoned their posts. Mark Hertling, a retired general who led American forces in the volatile region in 2007-2008 as they fought to end sectarian warfare that pushed the country to the brink of civil war, said Thursday, June 12, 2014 that neglect by the Shiite-led government left Iraq in a precarious position and "squandered" the opportunity for real progress. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)