Iraqi army faces serious problem
Iraq-USA, Politics, 5/3/2006

A Los Angeles Times report has recently painted a picture of severe problems in the Iraqi army fundamental capabilities, with low moral, drug use, and high desertion rates with sectarianism being a factor as to the area in which these soldiers want to serve.

The problems range from inability to have proper methods to pay the Iraqi soldiers, with money being handed and transferred in case by US soldiers to various locations, to dependency on US forces for other basic services.

The report said "None of Al Anbar's Iraqi brigades — among the newest and most strategically important — perform independently. Logistics is their greatest weakness. Many rely on US forces for food, transportation, uniforms, identification cards, drinking water, weapons and virtually every other necessity."

The LA Times report quoted a top US Marine trainer saying "many US military commanders remain reluctant to send poorly prepared Iraqi units into battle... The fear is that Iraqis will go in somewhere and get their clock cleaned, and the unit collapses .. Or that they'll get scared and won't want to fight, and you've flushed all that effort down the toilet. But I think you should do more independent operations now before we start off-ramping American units, and they have to go out and do it before they are ready."

The Los Angeles Times report said "Most soldiers stationed here are Shiites from Baghdad and southern Iraq, and spend up to a third of their time on home leave. Some find better opportunities closer to home and never return to duty. The desertion rate is 40% in the strategic city of Haditha, just downriver from here, Iraqi commanders said. Of 8,000 Iraqi troops throughout Al Anbar, 1,500 have deserted since late last year."

The Pentagon in February had reported on progress in Iraq saying that "Progress of Iraqi units in assuming responsibility for the battle space. Thirty-seven Iraqi Army battalions now control their own battle space. Iraqi Security Forces are responsible for security in roughly 460 square miles of Baghdad and more than 11,600 square miles in other provinces of Iraq, an increase of almost 4,000 square miles since the last report."

The Pentagon said "A continued increase in the number of units and individuals trained, equipped, and formed into operational status. The program of training and equipping members of the Iraqi Security Forces continues on track. Almost 107,000 soldiers, sailors, and airmen have now been trained and equipped – an increase of 19,000 since the last report. More than 82,000 police have been trained and equipped – an increase of over 13,000 since the last report. These police work alongside 38,000 other Ministry of Interior forces. Overall, there are over 227,000 Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Interior forces trained and equipped for counterinsurgency operations – an increase of 18% since the October 2005 report."

A Washington Post report yesterday said of an Iraqi recruit "We had volunteered to serve our cities and communities, particularly our families in Ramadi and Fallujah, who have been mistreated by the present soldiers of the Iraqi army, who come in large part from Shiite areas.. If they disperse us to Shiite and Kurdish areas, we will not go."

It should be noted that US officials have acknowledged the security reality in Iraq, if not explicitly saying that the insurgency is an extremely difficult issue to resolve militarily, by saying that Iraq needs a political and not military solution to the security problems.

Previous Stories:
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