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U.S. official says Iraqi forces face training gap
BAGHDAD – As the last U.S. troops withdraw from Iraq, it that country faces major gaps in its ability to build a military capable of securing its borders and airspace from external attacks, according to U.S. military officials.
By Hadi Mizban, AP
Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen, who oversees U.S. training and equipping of Iraqi forces, says Iraq's military is chiefly concerned with building the capacity to secure its airspace and vast land borders, which it shares with Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait and Turkey. But the United States did not reach an agreement with Iraq over the terms for keeping U.S. troops in the country to provide training.
"That leaves a significant training gap in the Iraqi security forces," Caslen said. "Iraqi security forces are going to have to address how to meet that training gap in the future."
Iraq's military will also face challenges from internal threats, including al-Qaeda-affiliated groups and Iranian-backed Shiite militias. Caslen said Iraq's armed forces have proven their ability to take on those threats.
But training and equipping a force for protecting its land borders and airspace requires sophisticated equipment and training, and it takes time.
"The best situation was to have the residual force that could train them like we do in our Army," Caslen said. It is also possible that countries in the region could fill training gaps, he said.
Iraq will lose the critical support the United States provides to its counterterrorism forces. Caslen notes that counterterrorism forces are extremely capable at conducting raids and have devloped good human intelligence sources but rely on the United States for technical intelligence gathering and some air support.
Iraqi and U.S. officials had been negotiating over leaving behind a residual force of U.S. advisers to train Iraqi security forces. The talks broke down over the issue of providing legal protections for U.S. troops, though President Obama's national security advisers said the decision to remove all troops by year's end had always been the plan.
Some critics such as retired general Jack Keane have said the withdrawal will endanger the security gains won by U.S. troops, more than 4,000 of whom died in Iraq over nine years of fighting. There are less than 10,000 troops in Iraq now, and all are to be gone by Dec. 31.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon, R-Calif., has cast doubt on the White House argument that Iraq was being left "safe, stable, and self reliant," saying experts before his committee questioned Iraq's ability to maintain internal stability and territorial integrity. But Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said the troop withdrawal was proper and reflected improvements on the ground.
Some Iraqis question whether their military is ready to stand on its own. Ali Hatem al-Suleiman, a prominent Sunni tribal leader in Anbar province, says Iraqi's military has trouble protecting its seat of government. "You want me to believe they can secure Iraq?" he said.
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BAGHDAD – As the last U.S. troops withdraw from Iraq, it that country faces major gaps in its ability to build a military capable of securing its borders and airspace from external attacks, according to U.S. military officials.
By Hadi Mizban, AP
Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen, who oversees U.S. training and equipping of Iraqi forces, says Iraq's military is chiefly concerned with building the capacity to secure its airspace and vast land borders, which it shares with Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait and Turkey. But the United States did not reach an agreement with Iraq over the terms for keeping U.S. troops in the country to provide training.
"That leaves a significant training gap in the Iraqi security forces," Caslen said. "Iraqi security forces are going to have to address how to meet that training gap in the future."
Iraq's military will also face challenges from internal threats, including al-Qaeda-affiliated groups and Iranian-backed Shiite militias. Caslen said Iraq's armed forces have proven their ability to take on those threats.
But training and equipping a force for protecting its land borders and airspace requires sophisticated equipment and training, and it takes time.
"The best situation was to have the residual force that could train them like we do in our Army," Caslen said. It is also possible that countries in the region could fill training gaps, he said.
Iraq will lose the critical support the United States provides to its counterterrorism forces. Caslen notes that counterterrorism forces are extremely capable at conducting raids and have devloped good human intelligence sources but rely on the United States for technical intelligence gathering and some air support.
Iraqi and U.S. officials had been negotiating over leaving behind a residual force of U.S. advisers to train Iraqi security forces. The talks broke down over the issue of providing legal protections for U.S. troops, though President Obama's national security advisers said the decision to remove all troops by year's end had always been the plan.
Some critics such as retired general Jack Keane have said the withdrawal will endanger the security gains won by U.S. troops, more than 4,000 of whom died in Iraq over nine years of fighting. There are less than 10,000 troops in Iraq now, and all are to be gone by Dec. 31.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon, R-Calif., has cast doubt on the White House argument that Iraq was being left "safe, stable, and self reliant," saying experts before his committee questioned Iraq's ability to maintain internal stability and territorial integrity. But Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said the troop withdrawal was proper and reflected improvements on the ground.
Some Iraqis question whether their military is ready to stand on its own. Ali Hatem al-Suleiman, a prominent Sunni tribal leader in Anbar province, says Iraqi's military has trouble protecting its seat of government. "You want me to believe they can secure Iraq?" he said.
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