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US acknowledges that Iraq
forces struggling to be ready |
Jim Mannon, Washington / AFP
07/22/2005
The Pentagon acknowledged Thursday that only a small number of Iraqi security forces can fight insurgents unaided as it gave Congress a secret assessment of future troop requirements.
The Defense Department's assessment of future force needs and details of Iraqi army and police numbers were kept classified.
But Lieutentant General Walter Sharp, a member of the US Joint Staff, said only a small number of Iraqi troops were rated "category one," a level designated for forces capable of "planning, executing, and sustaining independent counterinsurgency operations."
"Two thirds of the army battalions and half of the police battalions are partially capable of conducting counter-insurgency operations in conjunction with coalition units," he said.
Sharp quoted from a statement made to Congress in June by General Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The public version of Thursday's report, "Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq," provided only vague descriptions of Iraqi force readiness.
Peter Rodman, assistant secretary of defense, said Congress had been briefed in more detail about future US military needs in Iraq.
"But the decisions that will be made about when American troops can start coming down will depend upon conditions on the ground," he said. |
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