The Missing Links: A Realistic Appraisal of the Iraqi Military
The Missing Links: A Realistic Appraisal of the Iraqi Military.
Pretty sweet little piece over at Defense Industry Daily for dorks like me who are into this sort of stuff. I will give you the lede, and then the very accurate one-line conclusion:
Recently, I saw a comment that claimed the Iraqi Army (IA) is the best Arab army in the Mid-East. That it had been trained by the US in Corps- and Division- level operations, and thus was better than the rest of the Arab armies, since they effectively operate at only Brigade-level.
This is pure fantasy…
Indeed. Read the rest if you want an actual assessment of Iraqi army capability as compared to its neighbors (most notably Iran who will definitely fill the hole we leave when we depart Iraq). For those not up to snuff on military organizational jargon, feel free to post a questions in the comments below, I feel relatively assured I can answer them.
Oh, here is the conclusion:
Improvement is progressing almost on schedule, but the Iraqi military is not ready to stand alone – and never was planned to stand alone at this time. The 2012 date for U.S. withdrawal was a political date – not a realistic one.
I think there is a misprint in the lede. Our president was under the impression that they had been trained in “Corpse- and Derision-level operations.” Damn teleprompter!!!!!
The funny thing is he doesn’t mispronounce “Peace Corps” – so it begs the question, is he a selective moron?
LMAO – “Selective Moron” – love it!!
=)