Posted on 07/21/2005 5:26:58 PM PDT by SandRat
WASHINGTON, July 21, 2005 – A Pentagon report detailing the readiness of Iraqi security forces should not be interpreted to mean that Iraqis aren't meeting expectations, a military official in Baghdad said today. In a briefing from Baghdad, Air Force Brig. Gen. Donald Alston, spokesman for Multinational Force Iraq, said the report -- which shows that the majority of Iraqi forces aren't ready to operate independently -- should be assessed using all the facts and the history of the situation.
"The reality is, we've been building an army from scratch for the past year under combat conditions," he said. "These forces have come an extraordinary way in a year."
Some Iraqi units are capable of operating independently, and the rest of the forces are continuing progress in training and are gaining valuable experience from joint operations, Alston said.
"They're getting battle-hardened, they are training, and they are fighting," he said. "That is giving them experience that's hard to quantify."
Alston said the performance of Iraqi forces is being scrutinized closely because the United States wants to make sure it fulfills its obligation to the Iraqis and gives them the proper training to act independently.
"We have a great responsibility to get it right," he said.
The training program for the Iraqi forces is on track, Alston said, and the people continue to show courage by volunteering to serve even amid targeted terrorist attacks on police and military recruiting stations.
"The will of the Iraqi people cannot be broken," he said. "They are resilient, they are determined, and they are strong. The people of Iraq want a constitution and they want a constitutionally based, democratically elected government, and those things are coming."
Ping
The old media is all over these quotes,but nobody listening;)
No matter what our military say, the L/MSM will figure out how to make it sound like we are missing the boat. If I where the SoD I would have issued an order that no one was to make the report public. Let the swine stew in their pots for a while.
Note that Iraq has no conscription; it is entirely an all-volunteer force. And it has no trouble meeting its quotas.
That is extraordinary.
"Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), a member of the Armed Services Committee, said it is "obvious that the training program is in trouble" and argued that the readiness evaluations for Iraqi forces should made be public.
"No foreign policy is sustainable without the support of the American people, and it's clear that support is waning," Kennedy said in a statement. "The American people deserve to know the facts about our policy. They want to know how long it will take to fully train the Iraqis and when our military mission will be completed."
Pentagon officials said they have no intention of releasing specific information about the progress of Iraqi troops because they fear it would give insurgents an advantage."
In the Washington Post
Rummy comments as picked up on Fox
...said it would be "mindless" to publish information about the combat readiness of Iraqi security forces that would reveal their strengths and weaknesses.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,163155,00.html
For an interesting view of the many ways the MSM reports the same report -
http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=Iraqi+Forces+Report&c=
"Note that Iraq has no conscription; it is entirely an all-volunteer force. And it has no trouble meeting its quotas.
That is extraordinary."
You got that right. And most importantly we had developed an officer corps., esprit de corps, out of former officers and others that show promise. These officers, and the noncoms are being trained in how to run an army, that is both effective as well as efficient. As we continue to upgrade and add new armor, vehicles, personal gear etc., to equipe them, they also as you probably are aware go through a number of courses. They now have some special ops units, their budding airforce has received as a few weeks ago from us three C130's, and they now have pilots trained to fly them. Their new coast guard is gearing up, after being trained by our Navy and Marines. So much the L/MSM could make little documentories on or at least make mentioned of if they dared. And surely their Intel is better then ours, so the multinational forces now have better means to find and do away with the Ali Babba before they have time to strike. In short, Abu Musab Al Zarqawi and Izzat El Douri and their goons realize their causes are diminishing to zitch as time goes by. As the borders shut down, less terrorist can now enter. As they use them up in suicide bombings they have less resources to work with. More mis-informed terrorist are going home after they see the Z-man only wants them to strap a bomb on a blow innocents up. The L/MSM are getting frantic in their ever gloomy quiet mood. As the L/MSM lay prostrate on their Lenin/Trosky prayer rugs, they realize there is little left to complain about. Any American at this point with at least a small portion of a brain, should realize almost 85% or so of Iraq is as quiet as a church mouse. Only the key cities in the TOD and ST are putting up any resistance. As the cities along the Euphrates from roughtly Karabala upward to Al Quam are taken over by brigade levels of Iraqi army and security forces (police), with their Intel, and the growing support they are garnering, the terroist cells will be further exposed and done away with. And you know the rest of the story.
"Kennedy said in a statement. "The American people deserve to know the facts about our policy. They want to know how long it will take to fully train the Iraqis and when our military mission will be completed."
And I say to that lard ass commie, he nor the people have any frigen right to know the facts. Because they have no background in making any type of evaluation at best.
This crap has gotten totally out of hand. These congress people are so ignorant of and void of any understanding on much of what is required for them to even begin to be able to evaluate things of this nature. They don't even have the vision to see this terrorist movement and insurgency is probably going to be over with in another year. I am quite certain they do no individual analysis, nor are the capable of assimulating what they are briefed on. They prove it time in again, they are all practically useless. All the are good at is keeping their jobs and getting tons of perks.
The POTUS aought to pay the fat boy a call and tell him to just shut up already or things will start to get tough on him up and the hill.
May I suggest, if the Pres wants the job done right he ought to send a gunny up to talk to fat boy. ;-)
"May I suggest, if the Pres wants the job done right he ought to send a gunny up to talk to fat boy. ;-)"
heh heh heh. Yea..........But that tub of lard might require two to bring him down. He is like a frigen whale, of course all one has to do is fire a signal flare into him and run, and he will explode.
Semper Fi.
"May I suggest, if the Pres wants the job done right he ought to send a gunny up to talk to fat boy. ;-)"
heh heh heh. Yea..........But that tub of lard might require two to bring him down. He is like a frigen whale, of course all one has to do is fire a signal flare into him and run, and he will explode.
Semper Fi.
Must have been worth saying, it got repeated twice.
"Must have been worth saying, it got repeated twice."
Bump bump to the top
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