Iraqi Army & Police Will Hit 580,000 By Year’s End
Senior U.S. military officials projected yesterday that the Iraqi army and police will grow to an estimated 580,000 members by the end of the year but that shortages of key personnel, equipment, weaponry and logistical capabilities mean that Iraq’s security forces will probably require U.S. military support for as long as a decade.
“The truth is that they simply cannot fix, supply, arm or fuel themselves completely enough at this point,” said U.S. Army Lt. Gen. James Dubik, head of the Multi-National Security Transition Command in Iraq.
Iraqi security forces now consist of nearly 500,000 personnel, after a 55 percent increase in the size of the Iraqi army over the past year, Dubik said. The Iraqi government envisions increasing that number to 580,000 by the end of 2008, with an ultimate goal of building a force of as many as 640,000, he said.
Dubik described Iraqi security forces as “bigger and better” than ever before, but he said significant problems are keeping them dependent on U.S. military support.
Iraq “remains reliant on the coalition” for critical gear, such as helicopters, mortars, artillery and intelligence-gathering equipment, he said. Moreover, Iraq’s shortage of mid-grade leaders represents “a very real and very tangible hole in proficiency that . . . will affect them for at least a decade.”
Washington Post article by Ann Scott Tyson here.
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“Moreover, Iraq’s shortage of mid-grade leaders represents ‘a very real and very tangible hole in proficiency that… will affect them for at least a decade.’”
I can imagine so. Under the best circumstances, an NCO corps doesn’t suddenly spring from Zeus’s head. It takes time for a force to build up experience so that you can have people capable of being “mid-grade leaders.” Moreover, we’re having to not only polish out the rough spots of Arab culture, making the training of a Western-style military force difficult, but also cutting away the social scar tissue of a long-traumatized society. The progress that the Iraqis have made thus far is a real testament of what they are capable of.
January 19th, 2008 at 2:13 am