Levin says Iraq needs to train troops better
12/14/2004, 2:36 p.m. ET
By DEE-ANN DURBIN
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Sen. Carl Levin said Tuesday that his one-day trip to Iraq convinced him the country needs to overhaul the way it is training troops.
Levin, D-Mich., was part of a four-member Senate delegation that visited Iraq Monday before heading to Belgium to meet with NATO leaders. Levin is the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Levin said Iraq is having trouble training its army because it has inexperienced, disorganized leadership. Some soldiers simply take their uniforms and weapons and disappear, he said.
Levin said the task is much more difficult because the Bush administration disbanded Iraq's army after U.S. troops entered the country, a decision he says was a "fundamental error."
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