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U.S. General: Iraqi Army Needs More Time
WASHINGTON (AP) - It will take up to two years for the Iraqi army to have the military leadership and supplies it needs to operate on its own, the commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad said Friday.

Maj. Gen. William G. Webster Jr., told Pentagon reporters that the Iraqi security forces are continuing to grow, but their major need is for support systems, such as fuel and replacement parts. ``If we're talking about an army that can pick up and move and go out to the borders to defend the country and be able to sustain operations out in the open for a long period of time, it's probably going to be a year and a half, two years before that system is mature enough to operate on its own,'' Webster said from Baghdad.
That fits with the rest of what we know. The Iraqi troops are getting better at field operations and intel; now they need work on leadership and logistics.
Webster did not specify what impact his assessment would have on U.S. hopes for beginning a withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. ``It's hard to pick a date for sending everybody home because the enemy gets a vote as to when that occurs,'' said Webster. ``We have got to make sure the Iraqi government is capable of standing on its own and that the Iraqi security forces are capable of defending that new constitution.''

Webster said the Iraqi government must provide systems for supplying its army, and the U.S. is working with them on that. In addition, he said the U.S. is helping the Iraqi army train front line supervisors on leadership and discipline. He said that while there is a long way to go to get the rest of the Iraqi security forces able to work on their own, they have about 18 battalions now operating in Baghdad with some U.S. support, compared to one battalion in the oldest portion of the city last January.
Posted by: Steve White 2005-10-22
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=132875