Rumsfeld: Iraq Security Forces Expanding

[Barrett808]

Rumsfeld: Iraq Security Forces Expanding
By JOHN J. LUMPKIN, Associated Press Writer

KABUL, Afghanistan - Iraqi security forces should grow by 50,000 trained and equipped personnel during the next three or four months, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said as he acknowledged the forces so far have had a mixed record on the battlefield.

Some Iraqi units are simply unequipped to take on heavily armed insurgents, the defense secretary said during a trip this week to Oman and Afghanistan (news - web sites). Still, they are going on joint patrols with U.S. forces more frequently.

"It shows they are not hiding in their barracks," Rumsfeld said.

He said about 110,000 security and military forces have received complete equipment sets and training. That's slightly more than half of the 206,000 people who have been recruited.

"The next step is Iraqi patrols with us in the background. The faster that gets done the better off everyone is going to be," Rumsfeld said.

(more)

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040811/ap_on_re_as/us_iraq&cid=516&ncid=1480

[jukes]

1. & the ARVN

is why we won in vietnam.