Honest Argument - Node: Quality of Iraqi troops is questionable

Argument:	U.S. can still salvage the Iraqi state
Node type:	This node refutes its parent
Parent Node:	Accelerate training of and transfer to Iraqi military and police
Node Text:	Quality of Iraqi troops is questionable Many problems have been detailed regarding the Iraqi troops. "For example, Grunow writes that Iraqi units drop in strength as much as 20 percent after paydays because soldiers take leave and go home. Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, who commanded the Multi-National Corps-Iraq in Baghdad from January 2005 to January 2006, picks up that theme in an article in the most recent Military Review. "The lack of a central banking system detracted from forces available. . . . Soldiers once a month must journey back to their homes to pay debts and pass the money on to their families . . . [and] are normally gone for up to a week, with the resultant loss to the unit of ready combat power," Vines writes. Grunow also notes that some Iraqi soldiers do not show up for training that is difficult, and he says that up to 40 percent of some Iraqi units run away in the face of dangerous situations -- without punishment. Their officers, Grunow writes, value relationships rather than results and frequently fail to notice misconduct or failure. He argues that U.S. advisers must deal honestly with the local culture because Iraqi soldiers "are under no effective contract and they always have the option to leave the service. The only power holding them is the promise of a paycheck (not always delivered) and a sense of duty." . . . . They agree that the Iraqi army must continue to grow and that the Iraqi police must be reformed. West writes that "training alone was not the answer" for the Iraqi police. "Too many police were corrupt and controlled by Shiite militias, and senior Iraqi leaders were doing little to punish disloyalty." Sectarian issues continue to disrupt police performance, he says: "How Sunni police can be effective and not be assassinated in their own cities has yet to be shown. Conversely, the Shiite police in Baghdad have lost all trust among the Sunnis."" http://www.washingtonpost.com/... Additionally, many believe that the number of troops trained is insufficient. "Other experts say the "stand up, stand down" formula has not worked because the target number is insufficient, or because the number is the wrong measurement. The target of 325,000 trained security forces "is arguably inadequate to start with," said Bruce Hoffman, a Georgetown University defense specialist. Given the total population in unstable parts of Iraq and a standard ratio of population to security forces of 20 to 1, he said, "Iraq really needs 500,000 troops and police."" http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Node Created:	Ulysses Berman — 2006-11-30 20:36:34

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