[Mb-civic] Top U.S. Commander: Iraq Forces Not Ready The Associated Press

[Michael Butler]

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  Top U.S. Commander: Iraq Forces Not Ready
  The Associated Press

  Wednesday 26 January 2005

  BAGHDAD - The top American commander in Iraq on Wednesday said
U.S.-trained Iraqi security forces were still not ready to take over the
counterinsurgency and there was no guarantee they will ever be able to
defeat it on their own.

  Gen. George Casey said the 130,000 Iraqi police and soldiers still lack
leaders to direct them in a fight against rebels, and local police forces
who've deserted in the thousands in the face of intimidation and withering
assaults by guerrillas remain a key weak point.

  Training and equipping Iraqi troops to eventually take the lead role here
is a central pillar in U.S. efforts to rein in insurgents and eventually
pull American and other foreign troops out of the country. But the Iraqi
forces have been criticized for poor training and lack of leadership.

  "Can I sit here and look you in the eye and say that the Iraqi security
forces guaranteed 100 percent are going to be able to defeat this insurgency
by themselves? Of course not," Casey said.

  "From what I've seen in the seven months that I've been here, I believe
that we can achieve capable Iraqi security forces over a period of time that
can deal with the Iraqi insurgency that's here."

  British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in an interview published Wednesday
that U.S.-led coalition forces and Iraqi officials will begin discussing the
handover of security responsibilities to Iraqi forces after Sunday's
national elections.

  Blair did not set out a clear timetable for the transfer, telling the
Financial Times newspaper that the move would come only when Iraqi forces
are up to the job.'

  But he said the coalition was "looking with the Iraqis now at what are the
timelines for the Iraqi-ization to be achieved.'' After the election, "we
have got to sit down with the new government and look at how we manage the
transition,'' Blair was quoted as saying. "There are areas where we would be
able to hand over to those Iraqi forces. Remember, 14 out of the 18
provinces in Iraq are relatively peaceful and stable.''

  The elections will be a key test, as Iraqi troops take the commanding role
in efforts to secure the vote. The stakes are high. Insurgents have pledged
to shower polling stations with mortar fire, car bombs and gunfire in an
effort to derail the election for a 275-member National Assembly.

  "There's going to be violence on election day, but millions of Iraqis are
going to vote on Jan. 30, and to me that's extremely significant. You're
going to see the continued triumph of democracy over tyranny,'' Casey told
reporters in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone.

  Casey, who commands all multinational forces in Iraq, said that after the
election U.S. trainers and advisers will work more closely with Iraqi
forces, focusing on building senior division and brigade level leadership.

  "The weak pole in the tent right now is the local police,'' Casey
acknowledged.

  In November, a 5,000-member police force in the northern city of Mosul
fled their posts as fighting swept the city.

  U.S. trainers have modified eight-week programs to focus on fighting an
insurgency that Casey says has gotten more organized in recent months.

  "Now are they capable of taking over the counterinsurgency campaign
themselves right now today? The answer's no,'' Casey said.

  Iraqi forces still lack the ability to develop an intelligence network,
draw up combat plans and support them logistically and even to defend the
institution of the army itself, the general said.

  "We cannot stay here forever in the numbers that we're here now. ...
Iraqis have to take ownership over this,'' Casey said.

  The general put the number of Iraqi police and army forces at 130,000,
although some U.S. lawmakers complain that only a small percentage can be
described as well-trained.

  "You can get into a debate about are they fully trained,'' Casey said.
"Well, what do you mean by fully trained? ... What's important is they're in
the fight.''

  The Pentagon has said it ultimately hopes to train about 135,000 Iraqi
police and 85,000 army troops.

  Casey wouldn't venture a guess on how many rebel fighters remain. He said
15,000 have been captured or killed over the past year.

 

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