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Iraqis More Capable in Counterinsurgency Ops

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Iraqi Forces More Capable in Counterinsurgency Fight


Quote:
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

BAHGDAD, Iraq, May 4, 2006 – Iraqi army forces are becoming much more capable and are increasingly taking the lead in counterinsurgency operations, coalition officials said here today at a news conference. About 253,000 members of the Iraqi security forces are trained and equipped, Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, deputy chief of staff for strategic effects for Multinational force Iraq, said. Two divisions, 16 brigades and 58 battalions make up the Iraqi army.
Iraqi officials yesterday inaugurated a new system that will allow commanders to exercise operational control of these forces nationwide. Lynch said the million-dollar Joint Operations Center that Iraqi Ground Forces Command uses at Camp Victory gives Iraqi commanders situational awareness. Up to now, Iraqi commanders had administrative control of the forces. This new capability will allow the Iraqis to assess threats, direct troops and assess intelligence.
Lynch said that Iraqi forces or Iraqi forces in conjunction with coalition troops conduct almost 70 percent of all operations in Iraq. "Only 30 percent of operations are coalition-force independent operations," he said.
He cited Iraqi operations in the northern city of Mosul as an example of the increasing Iraqi effort. About 1,500 Iraqi soldiers and police are in Mosul to stabilize the area and provide security for residents. The only coalition-force involvement is to provide an outer perimeter. An interesting point in the operation is that Ninewah province police allowed local media to accompany troops, observe them and report on the operation.
Lynch said that by the end of the year, the Iraqi security forces will be at full strength.




http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2...0504_5018.html

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To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

Bluesman

Got a story:

Back in December, General Abizaid wanted a change in the briefing of the previous days ops. Before then, the guidance was to brief the op, then add 'Iraqi forces in the lead', if that was the case. It got to be so usual to add it that it was almost pro forma.

It got to be so usual to hear the phrase that starting on the first of the year, he wanted it briefed as 'US forces in the lead' if that was the case, and he wanted it stated up front, BEFORE the op was briefed. Sometimes, he'd ask the J3 if the op wasn't something the local Iraqi unit could do. The implied message was, if they CAN do it, let 'em. If they CANNOT do it yet, train 'em, and let 'em take the lead on the next 'go'.

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"The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it, and if one finds the prospect of a long war intolerable, it is natural to disbelieve in the possibility of victory."
- George Orwell

lemontree

This is a welcome development and the dividends yelded by this change will be immense.

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Cheers!...on the rocks!!

vinay60000

locals can understand the problem and have the ability to solve it more logically