Washington
09 July 2008
A U.S. general formerly in charge of training Iraq's army and policeforces since 2007 says they will require long-term assistance from theUnited States. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill, wherelawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee questioned ArmyLieutenant General James Dubik about the status of Iraqi forces.
General Dubik says Iraqi forces now number 566,000, an increase of 122,000 since June of last year.
Nineof 18 Iraqi provinces are under Iraqi control, he notes, with 12 Iraqibattalions now at the highest level of operational readiness and 90 atthe second highest level.
General Dubik says Iraqi forces areincreasingly conducting their own operations, although with U.S.command and control, intelligence, logistics and air support. He listsa number of optimistic statistics. "Gains in the percentage of leadersin their units, the percentage of soldiers who are present for duty,the numbers of air missions and naval patrols per week, and the overalloperational readiness ratings are all trending in a positivedirection," he said.
"It's a year in which the Iraqis themselvesdeployed their forces on their own initiative, took big risks to do it,and have had success in a series of operations. That success has giventhem confidence in those forces," said Christopher Straub is DeputyAssistant Secretary of Defense for Middle Eastern Affairs.
Members of Congress welcome any good news, but remain skeptical about its accuracy.
"Weneed a real and a clear sense of where we are, General, in this effort,and how long it will take for the Iraqi security forces to be able tooperate without us, and what the strategy is for getting us there,"said Ike Skelton, head of the Armed Services Committee.
GeneralDubik acknowledges that progress could still be reversed by insurgentshe describes as active and capable, while Iraqi forces still faceobstacles in training, leadership and sectarianism. He says holding onto success achieved so far will require ongoing U.S. support. "To holdon to those successes and achieve the quality, improvements, andprofessionalization that we all want, continued coalition advisory andtraining teams along with partnership units is necessary as is Iraqisecurity force funding," he said.
Dubik says Iraqi officials,including Iraq's defense minister, have pointed to a general timeperiod between 2009 and 2012 during which Iraqi forces could makeprogress that is still needed.
Straub had this response to alawmaker's question about recent Iraqi statements about a U.S.withdrawal timetable: "I think the Iraqis with these comments in thelast couple of days about timetable are looking at a time when theirforces will be ready. So, I don't think there is such a spread[difference] between us, we are very much focused on conditions."
WhiteHouse press secretary Dana Perino said Wednesday that the United Statesremains opposed to any arbitrary withdrawal timetable, and said Iraqileaders agree that conditions on the ground in Iraq must be the primarydetermining factor.