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After years of effort, Iraqi army still can't 'stand up'
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Mar 31, 2008 09:10am |
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| Category | News |
| News Date | Sunday, March 30, 2008 03:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | By CHARLES J. HANLEY
The Associated Press
Iraq's new army is "developing steadily," with "strong Iraqi leaders out front," the chief U.S. trainer said.
That was three-plus years ago, and the trainer was David H. Petraeus, now the top American commander in Iraq. Some of those Iraqi officials at the time were busy embezzling more than $1 billion allotted for the new army's weapons, according to investigators.
The 2004-05 Defense Ministry scandal was just one in a long series of setbacks in the five-year struggle to "stand up" an Iraqi military as President Bush has promised and allow hard-pressed U.S. forces to "stand down." The latest discouraging episode was unfolding this weekend in bloody Basra, the southern city where Iraqi government forces -- in their toughest test yet -- were struggling to gain the upper hand in a battle with Shiite Muslim militias.
Year by year, the goal of deploying a capable, free-standing Iraqi army has seemed to always slip further into the future. |
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