Concerns Mount on Preparedness of Iraq's Forces

[steven johnson]

Source: NY Times

By STEVEN LEE MYERS
Published: May 08, 2009
BAGHDAD - Iraq's security forces, despite significant improvements, remain hobbled by shortages of men and equipment, by bureaucracy, corruption, political interference and security breaches that have resulted in the deaths of dozens of Iraqi and American troops already this year, according to officials from both countries.
The security forces are not on the verge of collapse. American officers who work closely with Iraqi forces emphasize the progress that has been made from the days when the security forces barely functioned, and point to a rising professionalism. Nor are rogue units routinely carrying out sectarian killings, as they were a couple of years ago.
But a recent string of attacks by insurgents has highlighted shortcomings, large and small, despite billions of dollars in American training and equipment, the officials said.
In one small but telling example, an American project to train Iraq's Army to maintain its fleet of armored Humvees has stalled because soldiers simply stopped attending a 90-day course after not being paid, according to a report by the special inspector general for Iraqi reconstruction.


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