Navy Adm. William Fallon said in an interview with The Associated Press that more U.S. troops on the ground, better use of those forces, and frustration among the Iraqi people with the violence plaguing their communities have combined to make the country safer.

"The situation has dramatically improved in the last five months in particular," Fallon said during a stop in Hawai'i on his way back to U.S. Central Command headquarters in Florida from a trip to Pakistan, Central Asia, and Singapore.

"We've seen a significant increase in security nationwide," he said.

The assessment by the region's top U.S. commander was in line with Bush administration optimism over progress in Iraq.

Fallon said a grass-roots shift among Iraqis — both Sunni and Shia — against insurgents in their midst has been critical to the improvement.

"Over the last year, many people in Iraq, I believe, have gotten fed up with the extremists on both sides," Fallon said.

That's demonstrated by growing numbers of Iraqis who have taken on security responsibilities in their own neighborhoods, he said. Some 50,000 have signed up to be what the military calls "concerned local citizens" in a project Fallon compared to a neighborhood watch program.

"They've been telling the coalition where the insurgents are, where they are hiding their weapons, and who they're dealing with. This has been extremely helpful," Fallon said.

In addition, not only are more U.S. troops on the ground, but they are more effective because they're more directly involved with the population, he said.

Instead of merely going on patrols, the soldiers and Marines have been spending more time off their large bases and in communities. They've been trying to increase economic opportunities and help people rebuild their lives, in other words, practice counterinsurgency doctrine, the admiral said.

The number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq has been on a downward slope. There were 39 deaths in October, compared to 65 in September and 84 in August.

The improvement has contributed to a decision to reduce U.S. force numbers by some 21,500 by July 2008, a move that would bring troop totals back down to where they were prior to the so-called "troop surge" begun earlier this year.

Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, will be putting together over the next few months his recommendation for how many troops should stay in Iraq beyond next summer, Fallon said.

The admiral acknowledged there was some risk in reducing troop numbers when those forces have helped boost security.

"There's always risk. There's no risk-free deal here. But what are we going to do? We have other pressures and other realities," Fallon said. "And frankly, we want to give the Iraqis responsibility for their country."

The admiral said he hoped the U.S. would have a long-term presence in Iraq but that needed to be negotiated with Iraqi government officials. He added it would differ greatly from the current presence.

Fallon's stop in Hawai'i was a homecoming of sorts. He led U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific from the Hawai'i headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Command for two years before assuming responsibility for the Middle East and Central Asia in March.

On Pakistan, where President Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency and suspended the constitution last week, the admiral said U.S. interests lie with a government that's committed to taking care of the rights and needs of its citizens.

But he also said the U.S. needed Pakistani roads and air space to supply coalition forces fighting the Taliban and al-Qaida in landlocked Afghanistan.

"We have to recognize that there are many aspects of the relationship between the two countries," Fallon said. "I rely very heavily on the (Pakistani) government and military to help us carry out the things we have to do in Afghanistan."