for a very long time now, the justification for remaining in Iraq has been that we need to train Iraqi troops so they can protect their fragile democracy and enforce stability ... recent testimony by the top two US General's in the Middle East revealed that there is now only one Iraqi battalion able to operate without US support ... just one !!! ... after 2.5 years, there is only a single battalion able to do the job ... supposedly, as of last July, there were three ... what's wrong with that picture ???
but mere quantification is an inadequate measure of what is really happening in Iraq ... we have to look beyond simple headcounts to understand the motivations and allegiances of those the US is training ... the reality is that the troops we are training are almost exclusively comprised of one of Iraq's factions, the Shi'ites ... the truth is the US is training an Iraqi militia that wants nothing more than to destroy the Sunnis in Iraq ...
in the name of stability, the US has chosen a policy of strengthening one side in the conflict ... not only will this inevitably lead to civil war, it will inevitably lead to a mass slaughter ...Wes Clark gave the Democratic radio address today ... while i think Clark is dead wrong about calling for US troops to remain in Iraq (in addition to other changes he's called for), his analysis of the Iraqi army is dead on the money:
"The Sunni minority is isolated, fatalistic, and increasingly anti-American. Many of the Iraqi forces we are training are able to fight with US leadership and support, but their real loyalty is in doubt. Militia forces are strong, they're well organized and, in fact, they are the ultimate arbiters in Iraq. They are preparing to settle factional disputes by force.the article below cites just how horrible the nature of the army the US is training really is ... the policy of training Iraqis makes no sense at all ...
we're arming one side so that they can execute the other ... while we condemn an insurgency that resorts to terrorism, we train the other side to do exactly the same thing ... the Sunni "insurgents" are fighting against US imposed rule because they have no choice; they are fighting for their own survival ...source:
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001305694Lasseter writes that "a week spent eating, sleeping and going on patrol with a crack unit of the Iraqi army" (the 4,500-member 1st Brigade of the 6th Iraqi Division) suggests that
the Bush exit strategy of turning over military control to the Iraqis "is in serious trouble. Instead of rising above the ethnic tension that's tearing their nation apart, the mostly Shiite troops are preparing for, if not already fighting, a civil war against the minority Sunni population."
Indeed,
the soldiers he traveled with are "seeking revenge against the Sunnis who oppressed them during Saddam Hussein's rule."
After documenting one bloody incident,
Lasseter quotes the brigade leader, Brig. Gen. Jaleel Khalif Shwail: "These people in Amariyah are cowards. I swear, I swear I'll have revenge." A U.S. military official tells Lasseter: "We never intended to create a Shiite army," the official said. "Clearly, one of our number one concerns going forward ... is sectarianism ... that revenge mentality."Lasseter also details the horrific deaths and wounds suffered from sniper fire in insurgent-led towns. He quotes the response of a Shiite sergeant:
"Just let us have our constitution and elections in December and then we will do what Saddam did -- start with five people from each neighborhood and kill them in the streets and then go from there."Another sergeant tells him: "Your country had to have a civil war. It will be the same here. Everything in this world has its price.
In Iraq the price for peace will be blood."
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