The official report of the Independant Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq, otherwise known as the “Jones Report”
An excerpt:
The Commission finds that in general, the Iraqi Security Forces, military and police, have made uneven progress, but that there should be increasing improvement in both their readiness and their capability to provide for the internal security of Iraq. With regard to external dangers, the evidence indicates that the Iraqi Security Forces will not be able to secure Iraqi borders against conventional military threats in the near term.
While severely deficient in combat support and combat service support capabilities, the new Iraqi armed forces, especially the Army, show clear evidence of developing the baseline infrastructures that lead to the successful formation of a national defense capability. The Commission concurs with the view expressed by U.S., Coalition, and Iraqi experts that the Iraqi Army is capable of taking over an increasing amount of day-to-day combat responsibilities from Coalition forces. In any event, the ISF will be unable to fulfill their essential security responsibilities independently over the next 12–18 months.
In the aggregate, the Commissions assessment ascribes better progress to the Iraqi Army and the Ministry of Defense and less to the Ministry of Interior, whose dysfunction has hampered the police forces ability to achieve the level of effectiveness vital to the security and stability of Iraq.
The Iraqi police are improving at the local level predominantly where the ethnic makeup of the population is relatively homogenous and the police are recruited from the local area. Police forces are hampered by corruption and dysfunction within the Ministry of Interior. In some areas, they have been vulnerable to infiltration, and they are often outmatched in leadership, training, tactics, equipment, and weapons by the terrorists, criminals, and the militias they must combat. The rate of improvement must be accelerated if the Iraqi police are to meet their essential security responsibilities.
Campbell,
You just want to leave an unprotect Iraq open to invasion by Iran? Look on the map my friend. Afghanistan is to the East of Iran and Iraq is to the West. Where do you think the heart of Militant Islamic Extremism comes from??? IRAN!!!
Our reasons for going into Iraq are going to be debated for a long time by historians and politicians but we cannot just leave the country to be overran by the Iranians. We allow that to happen and will be in much worse shape than we are now. Why is Iraq so hard to control? Iranian supported militias and insurgents are keeping Iraq from unifying and standing up.
Iran is the key to the Global War on Terror. The hatred of the West began from Iran and has since spread. Iran is the head of the snake.
(sigh) it is so tiresome, to repeatedly read posts, from whatever point of view, about any given subject, go back and forth and back and forth…simply because whomever is so adamant about making their own point, that they neglect to READ those made by another…
”…against eventual Iranian threats“
get it?
heh heh! strike “threats”, substitute “acts“
cant even re-read my own post correctly! which supports what I said about people not “READ“ing post. ‘n if I cant even read my own, what chance do lesser mortals have?
LOL!
Again, you just want to give up the majority of the 26 million population to Iranian rule? Smart move, another 26 million people that hate democracy and anything associated with Western Civilization (ie, freedom, etc). Thats really going to make the world safer isn’t it? Just retreat to Basra so we can keep our Oil, which by the way the top 10 oil companies are making over $125 BILLION in profits.
Maybe we can just protect the North Pole so Santa Claus won’t be hindered in his yearly gift giving. Don’t forget to protect the tooth fairy. And the Easter Bunny.
Give up on the Oil excuse, it’s not our supply that hurts our prices it’s our own big oil companies. They will not invest in the refineries therefore we pay way more at the pump because the old refineries are troulesome and inefficient. But why should they change as long as we’ll pay for it.
I’m done with this, ignorant people won’t try to learn so whats the point.
“Where do you think the heart of Militant Islamic Extremism comes from?“
Let’s see: the 9/11 attacks were carried out mainly by Saudis, working for a Saudi terror organization with a Saudi leader.
So I’m guessing Saudi Arabia on this.
Illegal invasions and occupation of sovereign countries use to be the preserve of Communists, Nazi’s and dictators. But it seems cooking up “intelligence of WMD” is now the acceptable excuse, even in a “democratic country”. The USA has opened a hornet’s nest, destabilised the middle east and now is wondering why it’s young men are dieing to make business men rich.
3000 innocent lives were lost in 911,but American citizens lives obviously are worth more than 150 000 iraqi’s killed as a direct result of an illegal invasion of a sovereign country. Not to mention the 40 000 to 50000 Afghan lives lost.
Iran is seen as the great threat to world stability… well if you consider it from the Iranian point of view, the USA and Britain supported and supplied Iraq in a muderous war, that cost 1 milion Iranian lives. The USA and it’s allies have just invaded Iran neighbour, would you not be looking for a little strategic safety ? nuclear weapons certainly make the USA think twice about bombing or invading, ask North Korea. Seeing as the USA is the ONLY country to have used nuclear weapons in anger, has invaded 2 sovereign countries in the last 5 years, on a proven false premise, without a world consensus. Who is the great threat to world stability ?
“Iran is the key to the Global War on Terror. The hatred of the West began from Iran and has since spread. Iran is the head of the snake.“
Right, and when Cheney wants to bomb Syria, suddenly Syria will become the head of the snake. Anyone *except* the Saudis can be the ‘head of the snake.’