When they stand up, we’ll stand down … someday

February 25, 2006

The key to withdrawing American troops from Iraq is the training and preparation of Iraqi battalions who can protect the country, and battle insurgents, without U.S. support. Donald Rumsfeld said this week that the effort is “progressing” nicely.

Is that true? It depends on how one defines “progress.”

The only Iraqi battalion capable of fighting without U.S. support has been downgraded to a level requiring them to fight with American troops backing them up, the Pentagon said Friday.

The battalion, made up of 700 to 800 Iraqi Army soldiers, has repeatedly been offered by the U.S. as an example of the growing independence of the Iraqi military. […]

The battalion, according to the Pentagon, was downgraded from “level one” to “level two” after a recent quarterly assessment of its capabilities.

“Level one” means the battalion is able to fight on its own; “level two” means it requires support from U.S. troops; and “level three” means it must fight alongside U.S. troops.

So, nearly three years after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, the total number of fully-trained and independent Iraqi battalions is zero.

I’d call that many things, but “progress” isn’t one of them.

Iraqi Army=ARVN
That being said, I wish not to criticize the Iraqi troops or call them worthless. Much like the South Vietnamese army, I’m sure a good number or Iraqis are good soldiers, they are just plagued by a lack of competent senior leadership, and complete dependence on American logistics and combat support. The Thieu regime in Saigon, who based their selection of officers on their loyalty to the president other than on their capabilities, and expected American B-52s to protect them from the NVA, as well as expect the US to provide all the beans and bullets, pretty much signed their own death warrant by 1975. Unfortunately, we (face it, WE ALL need to take responsibility for Iraq, because the Clown-in-Chief can’t) are allowing it to happen all over again. And I think we’ve reached a point where we can’t reverse course, not without drastically increasing troop commitments and funding. Unless I’m missing something. I was in the infantry and went to the University of Nebraska, so reply with small words easy to pronounce.

  • As I read it in the newspaper this morning, the number of battle-ready Iraqi batallions has been reduced from one to one.

    I think we should take credit of kicking out Saddam — which everybody said they wanted, in spite of their not knowing the implications – and let it turn into the civil war it’s threated to be since the “nation” was artificially formed. They’ll work it out, or they won’t.

  • I’ve heard many times over, “Don’t get your tit in a wringer.” I never knew exactly how one properly gets it out once it is caught. Seems we’re there now, and I have zero confidence that Bush and his administration knows the answer either.

  • Disbanding the Iraqi military and barring Baathists from holding positions, some of them no doubt experienced and talented commanders, seems like a real shrewd move after three years, doesn’t it?

  • During the 2004 presidential debates Kerry suggested taking all the Iraqi trainees out of the country and having them trained elsewhere, when they were fully trained, sending them back to Iraq. I didn’t fully understand the reasoning at the time, but it seems like a good solid idea and would solve a lot of problems with desertion and infiltration.

    Oh well, I guess that Rummie is doin’ a heckof a job.

  • I do remember ole Mary Maitlin saying that the good news that the media never covers is how many Iraqi battalions there are ready to fight. That this was a huge success….wonder if she got her talking points mixed up. I also remember hearing about how much rebuilding we had done and if the media would only cover these news stories…sort of like Cheney’s view that the insurgency was in the final throes.

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