BAGHDAD - The Iraqi army and police are growing so fast that their forces enter battle with far less than the usual number of qualified officers, a senior U.S.general told The Associated Press. While a serious problem, it is not stopping the Iraqis from becoming "good enough" to work with U.S. troops in fighting the insurgency, Army Lt. Gen. James Dubik said Saturday.

"We still have very difficult problems with (Iraqi military unit) leaders - very difficult," Lt. Gen. Dubik said in his first extensive interview since taking command in June of training and equipping Iraqi forces.