Article

2006-11-03 Iraq

U.S. officer describes disarray in Iraqi army

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Posted by Jotle Omavitch4006 2006-11-03 00:19|| || Front Page|| [3 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 There are negotiations going on in Amman, Jordan between the Iraq government and the opposition (terrorists and non-beligerents), which could end the conflict. Engagements suggest that US troops are attacked, not to end the occupation, but to get them out of the way so that sectarians can have a go at each other.

Apparently, the Sunnis are going to the wall against Shiite control while the Shiites want a free hand against their Islamic enemy. And Sunnis have Saudi funding (not necessarily from government sources)
Unfortunately, the Iranian government is smuggling sufficient cash to keep both anti-Sunnite and Occupation campaigns going. If they cannot bribe Iraq troops, they threaten their families.

So what can the US do? Play the Sunni Card, and attack Iran. Sometimes your only choice is between bad and worse. And that is tough luck for the Ayatollahs.

Posted by Snease Shaiting3550 2006-11-03 08:24|| 2006-11-03 08:24|| Front Page Top

#2 He gave a good assessment. By far, everyone is in agreement that the Iraqi military is too informal, seen as "just a job", where you can take leave anytime you like.

This is a problem that can only be solved by gradualism, call it a "professionalism upgrade." This will be done once the army is up to full strength and in complete control of the country.

It will involve the creation of a major "elite" unit, held to much higher standards as an "honor" unit. It will be held up as an example to other units to emulate, whose new commanders will slowly integrate the elite units' policies until they are the norm, attriting out soldiers who don't adapt.

The changeover will also include the "up or out" policy that the US uses in its military, to continually hone its military professionalism, and, importantly, to create a very large inactive reserve.

Posted by Anonymoose 2006-11-03 08:48|| 2006-11-03 08:48|| Front Page Top

#3 ..I'm curious - has anyone tried doing an "I'm an Iraqi" ad campaign for the Iraqi army the way they do ad campaigns here for the US Army? It seems we are pretty good at that sort of thing and if we can create and reinforce an image of a tough, professional, NON-SCETARIAN Iraqi military, we might get some real benefits out of it.

Mike

Posted by Mike Kozlowski 2006-11-03 09:00|| 2006-11-03 09:00|| Front Page Top

#4 Any different than rebuilding the South Korean army after its near annihilation in the summer of 1950? I do detect that unlike then, we've actually spent the time to do some real training before throwing them into a grinder. The present method seems a lot less Darwinist and less costly in lives.

Posted by Procopius2K 2006-11-03 09:11|| 2006-11-03 09:11|| Front Page Top

#5 what he called the Iraqi "death blossom,"

Carl seems to be a fan of "The Last Starfighter"

Posted by Steve 2006-11-03 09:14|| 2006-11-03 09:14|| Front Page Top

#6 Steve, no, I've heard that term repeatedly. It seems to be in common usage over there.

As for this business of the Iraqis "display[ing] great ingenuity with maintenance operations", if that's truly the case, then they're something new in the history of modern Arab militaries, since according to Ken Pollack, one of the most consistent characteristics of Arab militaries is their universal incompetence in maintenance and related technical fields, to the extent of most Arab militaries employing large cadres of foreign technical and maintenance support personnel to keep things operational. This explicitly included the Iraqi army up to the time Pollack was writing.

Posted by Mitch H.">Mitch H. 2006-11-03 10:38|| http://blogfonte.blogspot.com/]">[http://blogfonte.blogspot.com/] 2006-11-03 10:38|| Front Page Top

#7 The Iraqi Army has a strong incentive to be creative about maintenance of armoured vehicles : IEDs. Most of the Iraqi Army only has access to the leftovers of Saddam's Soviet equipment, which has been rusting away in depots since the end of the war, or unarmoured pickup trucks. When they get a good mechanic crew together, they cannibalize several of the downed vehicles to get a few runners, and then equip a unit. The Allies like Poland have been shipping spare parts to the Iraqis since most Polish equipment is still ex-Soviet, as well as full vehicles.
Naked self-interest fuels changes in approaches, also, several Iraqi Army units are filled with Kurdish Peshmerga which are noted for their ability to adapt and overcome.

Posted by Shieldwolf 2006-11-03 14:31|| 2006-11-03 14:31|| Front Page Top

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