2007-07-08 Iraq
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Iraqi army still not meeting U.S. needs
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Lack of trained forces hampers progress
SALMAN PAK, Iraq (AP) - U.S. soldiers in night-vision goggles piled out of a Chinook helicopter under a wide, orange moon. They crawled through mud along canals south of Baghdad, then stormed a chicken farm that the U.S. military believed doubled as a car bomb factory.
But something was missing: Iraqi partners.
The Iraqi army has yet to deploy a single soldier on this 380-square-mile swath, where the U.S. military is waging an offensive to dislodge al-Qaida fighters from marshlands along the Tigris River.
In Tuesdays predawn raid, the lack of Iraqi backup meant a frustrating outcome for U.S. forces. When suspects fled, there was no Iraqi cordon to catch them.
But more broadly, it illustrated a key weakness in the new U.S. counterinsurgency strategy of "clear, hold, rebuild." American commanders say the "hold" phase relies on Iraqi forces ability to move into cleared areas and keep insurgents in check once the U.S. draws down its troop levels.
But areas such as Salman Pak - once an enclave for Saddam Husseins favored officials - reinforce the accusations that the Iraqi military is still a long way from meeting U.S. expectations.
"Were all very frustrated. Were trying to fix this country, but the Iraqis are having trouble recruiting and getting their numbers up," said Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of the Armys 3rd Infantry Division, which is deployed in the area.
The Department of State sets the number of fully "trained and equipped" Iraqi soldiers at slightly more than 353,000 - still nearly 40,000 short of the U.S. goal by the end of the year. But the complications go beyond just numbers.
Last month, Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey, who used to oversee Iraqi training, said many Iraqi army units are not at full strength, and security forces face chronic desertions. Recruiting stations for the military and police have been frequent targets of extremist bombers.
There also are signs of an unwillingness by Iraqs leadership to commit forces to operations outside Baghdad. About 11,000 Iraqi soldiers were assigned to a U.S.-led offensive launched last month in and around Baqouba, on Baghdads northeastern rim. Only about 1,500 showed up, U.S. officials said.
"In some areas, the Iraqi army is full of capable military professionals, but there are other places where there are literally no Iraqi security forces," Lynch told The Associated Press this week. "Those are the places where the coalition will have to stay until the Iraqi government recruits, trains and builds forces to deny militants those sanctuaries."
The region of Salman Pak, about 15 miles south of Baghdad, has seen a spike in activity by Sunni insurgents since a U.S.-Iraqi security push began in the capital nearly six months ago, said Col. Wayne Grigsby Jr., commander of the Armys 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division.
Insurgents apparently streamed out of Baghdad, setting up fighting positions on the so-called "belts" around Baghdad. Salman Pak was a natural place for them to go.
Many former officers from Saddam Husseins military still live in the area, home to a major military and security complex during his rule. It also was the site of a biological weapons lab until the program was dismantled in the early 1990s.
Since his arrival here in March, Grigsby said he put in several requests for two Iraqi army battalions - up to about 1,500 men - to join the 3,800 U.S. troops now in the area. He is still waiting.
Iraqs Defense Ministry said it was concentrating its resources in Baghdad. So U.S. commanders here are resigned to teaming up with whatever Iraqi partners they have - mostly Iraqi police patrols riding in pickup trucks with just rudimentary armor as protection from mines and other attacks. And they are no match for al-Qaida, U.S. military officials say.
"I understand" Iraqi officials "reasoning. If you have to stretch forces, you take risks with your supporting effort, rather than your main effort in Baghdad," Grigsby said. "But it leaves us in a less-than-ideal situation here."
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Posted by GolfBravoUSMC 2007-07-08 10:46||
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