Pentagon Admits Shortfalls in Training Iraq Forces

[Barrett808]

Pentagon Admits Shortfalls in Training Iraq Forces
By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon acknowledged on Monday broad shortfalls in the U.S. training and equipping of Iraqi security forces, but said a majority of Iraq will be under the control of these forces by the end of December.

Army Lt. Gen. Walter Sharp, director of strategic plans and policy for the U.S. military's Joint Staff, released figures showing that only about 53,000 of 101,000 Iraqis already on duty in police, border control and other domestic security forces assembled by the Pentagon have undergone training.

Compared to the total deemed necessary for these forces by the Pentagon and the interim government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, only 41 percent of weapons were on hand, as well as 25 percent of vehicles, 18 percent of communications equipment and 28 percent of body armor, according to the figures.

At a hastily called briefing for reporters, Sharp did not directly answer when asked how many Iraqi security personnel were fully trained and fully equipped.

"Define what you mean by fully trained. And I don't mean to be smug about this," Sharp told reporters.

"We are now on the path of getting manned, trained and equipped Iraqi security forces into the field as quickly as possible," Sharp added.

(more)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040920/ts_nm/iraq_usa_forces_dc_1

[MichiganVote]

1. Shut up Pentagon. Just shut up. Who the hell does work in Washington?

The meter maids? I am so sick and tired of hearing all of these stupid assholes. None of them have done a GD thing to make this right from the moment they stepped into that God forsaken country.

CIA, FBI, Pentagon, State Dept., Congress,. Don't wait for these do nothing's to connect the dots America.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

2. Half a trillion doesn't stretch like it used to.

[Webster Green]

3. How do you train someone to get be-headed?

That's what Iraqi forces can expect if they collaborate with the Anglo-American Occupation Forces.

[cliss]

4. Jeez. Do they ever learn?

Didn't they already try this? Remember a few months back, when they trained Iraq soldiers. Next, they were going to have their stooges aim and shoot their own people.

Needless to say, many of them simply dropped their weapons and walked away. The article said that the Americans were "too arrogant". Next, we've had many reported deaths of police trainees. Simply too risky.

Now this. It's like they NEVER give up. And they NEVER stop failing. Man: I've never seen anything like it. Just a non-stop 3-ring circus.

[Wright Patman]

5. Ironically, the GOP's

argument that the federal government can do nothing competently may be reflected most clearly of all in its inability to conquer the world or even one small region thereof.