Concern over Iraq's preparedness

Iraqs forces are not yet ready, even as American troops are set to withdraw

The security forces are not on the verge of collapse. American officers who work closely with Iraqi forces emphasise 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 armoured 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.

The attacks have intensified concerns — and political anger here — that Iraq’s army and police force are not yet ready to provide adequate security as US President Obama’s gradual withdrawal of American troops is set to begin.

Iraq’s security forces have grown to 6,18,000 soldiers and officers, a 27 per cent increase since 2007, and their expanding presence at checkpoints in Baghdad and across the country has coincided with the significant drop in violence since then.

American support

Still, they remain heavily dependent on American support for basic military and police functions, including intelligence, aviation, medical care and logistics, according to the officials and two new reports by the Pentagon and the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.

At the same time, they face an insurgency that remains potent and may be regrouping, even as government revenues have plummeted with the price of oil, scuttling plans to buy equipment and leaving gaps in personnel, especially with the police. The inspector general’s report concluded that if Iraq’s budget did not improve, the long-term stability of its army and the police “may be at risk.”

Looking ahead to 2010, a study by the military’s own Centre for Army Analysis found that the Iraqi security forces would be “incapable of overmatching the threat” against it, according to a footnote in the Pentagon’s most recent quarterly report to Congress, dated March 31.

Neither the shortcomings of the forces nor the latest attacks — which made April the deadliest month this year for Iraqis and American forces — have altered Obama’s plan to withdraw combat forces from Iraq’s cities by the end of June and from the country by August 2010.

Obama’s plan, however, has set the clock ticking, highlighting the urgency of improving the Iraqi forces, which is now the primary American military mission.The challenges facing Iraq’s forces abound.