US general admits fewer Iraqis are ready to take over
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.He told the Senate Armed Services Committee that if the constitution is rejected, the situation in Iraq may deteriorate further, as violence in Iraq escalates ahead of the 15 October referendum on a new constitution.
General Casey also said that the number of Iraqi army battalions rated by US officers as capable of fighting without US help had dropped from three to one. He did not explain why the number had dropped from three in June to one now. The Pentagon has built its Iraq strategy on the expectation that it can begin bringing American troops home as the Iraqis gradually take the lead in the fight against the insurgency.
"That contributes to a loss of public confidence in how the war is going," Senator Susan Collins, said of the gereral's remarks. "It doesn't feel like progress when we hear today there is only one Iraqi battalion fully capable."
The training effort has progressed far slower than once expected, and General Casey acknowledged that it has been hurt by infiltration of the army and Iraqi police by insurgents and their sympathisers. The general said 75 percent of the US-trained Iraqi army was at least capable of engaging in combat, albeit with US troops providing support in most cases.
He declined to give an exact breakdown of Iraqi combat readiness, which he said was classified as secret, but he said more than 30 battalions are judged capable of taking the lead in an offensive, with US support. Only one can operate entirely on its own.
Senator John McCain said he was troubled that with such uneven progress in training the Iraqi army, the Bush administration is still planning for the possible withdrawal of some US troops from Iraq next year.
General Casey declined to predict, as he had in July, that the Pentagon could make a substantial troop withdrawal next year if political progress continues and the insurgency does not grow more violent. But he added under questioning by committee members that troop reductions were possible in 2006.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments