The Iraqi elections were successful. Now comes the hard work of securing the country and training the Iraqi security forces. The Independent UK, is reporting that out of 270,000 Iraqi forces there are “only 5,000 troops who could be considered combat ready.”
The gap is growing wider. Between October and November of last year, “the shortfall more than doubled, from 69,400 to 159,000. At current levels, the targets would not be met until next year.” In an effort to camouflage its failures, the Pentagon has since stopped giving figures for the number of combat ready troops. But the reality on the ground cannot be avoided. From Monday to Saturday, the insurgency killed at least 108 people. Recruitment is still being disrupted by “constant attacks, desertions, political suspicion and a catalogue of errors by the invaders, starting with disbanding the Iraqi army immediately after the war.”