Washington -- Army General George Casey, the incoming commander of the Multi-National Force-Iraq, says the U.S. political authority in Iraq will extend legal immunity from prosecution in Iraqi courts to all coalition personnel currently serving there, granting them protection well beyond the June 30 deadline for handing over sovereignty to Iraq.

Casey told the Senate Armed Services Committee June 24 that Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) Administrator Paul Bremer will complete negotiations on the language providing the extension of immunity before the CPA goes out of business at the end of June. The immunity protection is contained in Order 17 and is expected to remain in effect until the election of a new Iraqi government occurs in about six months.

There are approximately 140,000 U.S. forces and 25,000 forces from other countries currently serving in Iraq.

"Once I get there, my intent is to review that document and begin working toward a follow-on agreement," Casey said. He is currently the vice chief of staff of the Army, but when he assumes his new post next week he will report to Army General John Abizaid, commander of the U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for U.S. military operations in Iraq as well as elsewhere in the Middle East, Southwest Asia and the Horn of Africa.

Casey also said he will be the principal military adviser to newly appointed U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte, who will represent the United States in Iraq when the handover of authority is complete.

The general added that the United States plans to ask NATO to consider a role in training Iraqi security forces. A summit of the 26 NATO member nations will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, June 28-29.

Casey said he will be in charge of the multinational forces, special operations forces, and the Iraqi survey group that is searching for weapons of mass destructions, but Iraqi military and police forces will be under the authority of the Iraqi government.

"They will operate with us in some cases should the Iraqis choose, they may give us operational control over them for a specific mission," he said.

Even though U.S. forces may assume a lower profile beginning in July, Casey said there is no indication that such a shift would put U.S. forces in a defensive posture.

"We have to maintain an offensive mind-set here," he said. "For me an offensive mind-set means that the leaders of the multinational force are constantly focused on the enemy, and constantly assessing his vulnerabilities, and what they can do to take advantage of those vulnerabilities. And that's a continuous process."

Additionally, he said foreign fighters and the former regime loyalists will still be pursued and attacked when encountered.

Casey acknowledged that the Iraqi insurgency has proven much stronger than he had anticipated. "I think they've got support from external sources," he said. And, he said, the area known as the Sunni triangle is his greatest concern.

Finally, Casey told the committee that his top three priorities are to work with Iraqi forces to defeat the insurgency, training Iraqi security forces, and working in conjunction with the U.N. and the U.S. embassy to promote free elections.

Casey said 80 percent of the Iraqis want free elections to choose their own government, and, "we need to help them get there."