Number of Iraqi soldiers rises to 155,000

[lovuian]

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=57679d07db67068a

Big News Network.com Saturday 23rd April, 2005

There are more than 155,000 “trained and equipped” members of the Iraqi security forces, and trends are clearly positive, a senior defense official said during a Pentagon background briefing today.

What’s more, U.S. troop strength in Iraq went under 140,000 this week with the completion of the rotation of forces in and out of the country, he said.

And, while there has been an increase in the number of attacks in Iraq, it is small, and coalition and Iraqi officials are keeping an eye on such attacks.

The increase “is not significant in and of itself because the weekly number of attacks tend to fluctuate,” the official said. “We don’t believe this is indicative of … increased levels of planning, coordination and sophistication of attacks. The general trend of the number of attacks has been decreasing since the January elections.”

One disturbing anomaly is with car bombs. About half of vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices are now being detonated by suicide bombers, the official said. In the past, the number of “suiciders” was about 30 percent. “We don’t know yet what that means, but that is a particular note we’re watching with interest,” he said.

more...
The sooner we get out of Iraqi the better let them defend their own country!!!

[Botany]

1. Even if I trust those figures do the math .....

155,000 divided by 24,000,000 Iraqis .......
Freedom is on the march.

[KlatooBNikto]

7. Let us do a little math, shall we?

Out of the 155,000 let us say conservatively that 30% are people who use it as a last resort to put food on their tables.That leaves 100,000.Out of this one must assume about 25% are infiltrators who are there to keep a watch over the U.S. interests.That leaves 75,000.
I am sure out of this 75,000 50% will switch sides in a heartbeat.That leaves about 37,500. Of this if we are lucky 20% will fight for us. That is about 7500.I hope they do not fight as well as the South Vietnamese Army.They were only interested in a seat on the last helicopter out of Saigon.

[alcuno]

9. Not long ago there was a report that said 40% are AWOL on any given day.

If I were an Iraqi policeman or national guardsman, I'd use a LOT of sick days. What are they going to do? Fire you?

[daleo]

27. An interesting calculation.

I suppose people will quibble with your specific assumptions, but the overall validity of the calculation seems clear to me.

[still_one]

2. I don't believe a thing coming out of the Pentagon

results speak volumes

[Pinboy]

3. Do they still include all the AWOL's in the totals? n/t

[Bob3]

4. I love official military briefings

They read pretty much the same back wards as for wards.

155,000 - nice number - true - who the hell knows. Trained and Equipped - could mean anything - for example they have pants and shoes and can march in straight line. How many are a) combat ready and b) won't desert or sell their weapons on the black market? Again who the hell knows.

small increase in attacks - good god the country must be ablaze for them to admit that. They never say anything like that.

Attacks are down since January - except for car bombs - sorry I can't make any sense of that at all.

All in all just another day of solid progress in Viet Nam, sorry Iraq.

[alcuno]

8. Nearly three months and they still haven't formed a government.

I heard an interview with a "non-embed" today. He said it's just "lawless" over there.

[Roland99]

5. BFS

Bull
Fucking
Shit



If so, why the fuck are we still there getting killed by the dozens each week?

[still_one]

6. This is the true answer

http://www.icasualties.org/oif/

[Robbien]

10. If we cannot get people to join, what are the odds

people in a war zone are panting to sign up to be targets?

[ApBai]

19. The odds are that more will sign up because it is in their own country.

National pride can be a strong motivator.

[daleo]

28. Yes, but what constitutes the Iraqi nation now?

The war may have unleashed such centrifugal forces that the idea of an Iraqi Army is a fiction - it may be nothing more than the birthplace of three separate Shiite, Sunni, and Kurd armies. Of course, that may have been the whole point of Bush's invasion.

[lovuian]

11. Hey if your unemployed like 60% of the nation Ya need a job!!!

Any kinda job!!!

Whats the pay??? a few cokes and some bread!!!

[tabasco]

12. Translation: we're in a fucking quagmire.

These fuckers have lied to us since day one. Remember the Jessica Lynch rescue? Now all of the Bush puppets have been installed in OUR military, as well as the Iraqi government, and I don't believe a goddam word what they say.

If the Iraqi army is doing so great - I guess we can get the hell out - right?!

What is Bush's exit strategy?? Remember how republicans used to be so concerned with exit strategies? Now we're in a bloody quagmire and they don't give a shit because they are whores to the corporations profiting off the war.

My only condolence is that both of my Maryland senators voted against this goddam mess. But that is very little condolence as our men and women fly home in caskets.

[Jacobin]

13. REJOICE, for Vietnamization of the war......oops

I mean, Iraqization of the war will mean our troops can come home!!!! Remember how it worked last time???!?!?!?!?!?!

[catastrophicsuccess]

14. 155,000 collecting paychecks

Here is what is really happening - from WaPo article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12417-2005Apr23.html

snip

Meanwhile, officials describe setbacks in the security situation in the Sunni Muslim city of Husaybah on the Syrian border, near the area where fighters tied to al Qaeda had staged the second of two well-planned attacks on a U.S. military installation this month. An Iraqi army unit that had once grown to 400 members has dwindled to a few dozen guardsmen "holed up'' inside a phosphate plant outside of Husaybah for their protection, a Marine commander said.

"They will claim that they've got hundreds ready to come back and fight," said Reed, whose company seldom patrols inside Husaybah. "Well, there are no more than 30 of them on duty on any given day, and they are completely ineffective."

...

In city after city and town after town, security forces who had signed up to secure Iraq and replace U.S. forces appear to have abandoned posts or taken refuge inside them for fear of attacks.

''We joined the police, and after this, the job became a way of committing suicide,'' said Jasim Khadar Harki, a 28-year-old policeman in Mosul, where residents say patrols are dropping off noticeably, often appearing only in response to attacks.

[VegasWolf]

15. And the number that won't run from a conflict is 35. n/t

[Zhade]

16. Put up or shut up. If true, get us the fuck out of Iraq.

If you don't, we know you're still fucking lying.

Ante up, assholes. I call.

[wellst0nev0ter]

17. Once Again, We Look To The Nation Magazine For The Truth

What I Didn't See in Iraq
by Jim McGovern


Trust me when I tell you things are so much better in Iraq," said one US military official to me on my recent visit to that war-ravaged country. I didn't know whether to scream or pull the remaining two strands of hair out of my head. I was in Iraq as part of a delegation of eight members of Congress, led by House minority leader Nancy Pelosi. Everything we have been told about Iraq by the Bush Administration has either been an outright lie or overwhelmingly false. There were no weapons of mass destruction; we have not been greeted as liberators; and the cost in terms of blood and treasure has outpaced even their worst-case scenarios. Trust is something I cannot give to this Administration.

. . .During one such briefing, Lieut. Gen. David Petraeus, tasked with overseeing training of Iraqi security forces, informed us that 147,000 Iraqis had been trained. That sounded good to me. Perhaps we could start reducing the number of American forces, I suggested. But upon further questioning, General Petraeus conceded that less than one-fourth of the 147,000 were actually "combat capable." Why didn't he say that to begin with? I asked--respectfully--our military and diplomatic officials what the gap was between the Iraqis we have trained and the number we needed to train in order to draw down the number of US troops. I could not get a straight answer.

http://thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050502&s=mcgovern (may be subscription only)

[NeoConsSuck]

18. They get dressed up on payday :)

the other days are spent with family and friends.

[Daphne08]

20. I am so sick of this damn war!

I am so angry with those hawks in Washington who got us into this mess!

Why didn't they listen to the Middle East experts?

Anyone with any knowledge about Iraq and the Middle East could have forseen this disaster!

[llmart]

21. You ask "Why didn't they listen to the Middle East experts?"......

because they had their own agenda and it was negotiated behind closed doors in Cheney's office. They could give two shits about the soldiers dying as long as they and their families and corporate buddies are set for life with Halliburton profits. It's that simple.

[Disturbed]

22. "will fight for us."

Aren't the Iraqis supposed to be fighting for their country?

Don't the majority of Iraqis want the U.S. Occupation to end, like a year ago?

Isn't Iraq a sovereign nation with it's own Govt.?

Are those 14 U.S. Military bases temporary?

[leftchick]

23. and if you believe that!

what a fucking joke.

[0007]

24. This is nothing more than a smoke screen.......

Without the wherewithal, even 500,000 Iraqis couldn't bring peace to Iraq. Without air power, the insurgents will have the Iraqi Army for lunch.

And that is just part of the equation, there is more to add if one just figures.

[malmapus]

25. We're pretty much talking about light infantry too right?

I mean they have no armor, aircraft, or any really heavy fighting equipment anymore do they?

Wonder if they'll eventually go back to Russia to replace equipment.

[Barrett808]

26. Gen. Petraeus: Less than one-fourth are "combat capable"

What I Didn't See in Iraq
by JIM MCGOVERN
The Nation
May 2, 2005 issue
http://www.occupationwatch.org/analysis/archives/2005/04/what_i_didnt_se.html

During one such briefing, Lieut. Gen. David Petraeus, tasked with overseeing training of Iraqi security forces, informed us that 147,000 Iraqis had been trained. That sounded good to me. Perhaps we could start reducing the number of American forces, I suggested. But upon further questioning, General Petraeus conceded that less than one-fourth of the 147,000 were actually "combat capable." Why didn't he say that to begin with? I asked--respectfully--our military and diplomatic officials what the gap was between the Iraqis we have trained and the number we needed to train in order to draw down the number of US troops. I could not get a straight answer.

(more)

http://www.occupationwatch.org/analysis/archives/2005/04/what_i_didnt_se.html

[Frederik]

29. Which means that there are about

35,000 Iraqi troops. And how many of them are inflitrators, and how loyal are the rest?

[Barrett808]

30. Telegraph: Iraqi forces desert posts as insurgent attacks are stepped up

Iraqi army and police units are deserting their posts after the recent escalation in insurgent attacks, according to reports from around the country yesterday.

The end of a relative period of calm after the election has posed the first real test for the embryonic security forces since coalition troops started cutting back on their military operations in February.

On average 20 Iraqis and two coalition soldiers have died every day this month.

Suspected Sunni insurgents set off two bombs yesterday near a Shia mosque in Baghdad that killed at least 15 people.

The attack came as political leaders continued to haggle over the formation of a new government. Iraq's new police and army units, instead of taking responsibility for imposing law and order, are abandoning patrols or taking refuge in their guardhouses when challenged.

On the Syrian border, US troops in the Sunni city of Husaybah report mass desertions. An Iraqi unit that had once grown to 400 troops now numbers a few dozen who are "holed up" inside a local phosphate plant.

Major John Reed, of the 2nd Marine Regiment, said: "They will claim that they are ready to come back and fight but there are no more than 30 of them on duty on any given day and they are completely ineffective."

(more)

http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/04/25/wirq25.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/04/25/ixnewstop.html