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2006-12-19 Iraq
Bill Roggio reports on development of Iraqi Army - mostly bad news
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Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2006-12-19 12:39|| || Front Page|| [11131 views since 2007-05-07]  Top

#1 re: Iraqi Army

Moqtada Spilling the Beans

Tater Squats and Plots with Fellow Beturbaned Shiite.
Posted by RD 2006-12-19 15:32||   2006-12-19 15:32|| Front Page Top

#2 Iraqi soldiers earn about $70 a month. And there is millions of Saudi and Ayatollah money in Iraq. All good if we could rely on integrity, but the Iraqi Army is totally compromised. The quick fix is: count on elimination of Shiite power. I still have confidence that the President will do that.
Posted by Sneaze Shaiting3550 2006-12-19 16:24||   2006-12-19 16:24|| Front Page Top

#3 And so how efficient, trained, and free of corruption was the South Korean Army four years into that war?
Posted by Cleanter Speans8596 2006-12-19 16:55||   2006-12-19 16:55|| Front Page Top

#4 I wouldn't characterize this as 'mostly bad news." In fact, I was quite encouraged by what I saw while embedded with the IA. If someone could just get a handle on the pay issue, this would resolve a huge problem.
Posted by Bill Roggio">Bill Roggio  2006-12-19 17:05|| http://billroggio.com]">[http://billroggio.com]  2006-12-19 17:05|| Front Page Top

#5 Bill, going back to TQ next month or Feb for my second go around. I'm hearing scuttle about a 20K increase spread across SPTT's, MTTs, & BTTs. Not to violate opsec, but can you comment at all on this? If not, no big deal. Thanks for going out and writing the real deal. At least one journo-dude we trust.
Posted by Broadhead6 2006-12-19 17:11||   2006-12-19 17:11|| Front Page Top

#6 heh Bill, thanks for stopping by!
Posted by RD 2006-12-19 17:11||   2006-12-19 17:11|| Front Page Top

#7 Bill may have been encouraged but he also wrote of the pay/awol issue

This is directly related to pay problems, a lack of an enlistment contract, and a non-existent central banking system. As there is no central banking system, soldiers must physically take their paychecks home. They are forced to travel home unarmed (the weapons are needed at the units, and there is fear the soldiers would sell the weapons), and the soldiers become targets for death squads.


This was a depressing comment because it said to me that, while the IA may be growing as a military force, there is so little civil/social infrastructure that people can't be paid directly by a national bureaucracy. It is going to take a long time to pull these folks into the 21st century, especially as none of their neighbors are interested in seeing that happen.
Posted by Nimble Spemble 2006-12-19 17:27||   2006-12-19 17:27|| Front Page Top

#8 Broadhead6,

Thank you! I haven't seen reliable numbers for the increase. The AP said 9,000, I've heard 15,000, and I've heard the 20,000 number as well. My apologies for not being able to shed more light on this.
Posted by Bill Roggio">Bill Roggio  2006-12-19 17:35|| http://billroggio.com]">[http://billroggio.com]  2006-12-19 17:35|| Front Page Top

#9 Bill -- thanks for responding. I, too, didn't think this was "mostly bad news." I took most of it as "good news." I'm not military, never have been, but you guys got the best logistics in the world, and seems to me, our military steps in and that problem gets solved fast! Then, the others fall into place.

Would be one of the first things I hope Gates looks at. I heard Rummy mention it, so he was looking into it.

Thanks for what you do!
Posted by Sherry">Sherry  2006-12-19 19:44||   2006-12-19 19:44|| Front Page Top

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