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India On Media |
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| Politics
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| Iraqi forces 'cannot stand alone' |
| Iraq's security forces are not capable of taking over from US troops within the next 18 months, a new report says
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| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
, 6-September-2007
10:25:30 AM |
| The study by retired US marine General James Jones said Iraq's national police force was ineffective and so rife with sectarianism it should be scrapped.
The Iraqi military showed signs of progress but would not be able to work independently for some time, he said.
The Jones report is the latest in a series to be considered by the US Congress as it debates the Iraq war.
Earlier this week, a report by a non-partisan Congressional watchdog found the Iraqi government was "dysfunctional" and had failed to meet 11 of 18 benchmarks set by the US.
The top US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador to Iraq, are due to report to Congress next week on the progress of the Bush administration's Iraq strategy.
'Continued improvement'
Gen Jones is to testify before both Senate and House Armed Services Committees on Thursday.
According to advance copies of the report, the 20-member independent panel he led found that Iraq's security forces and police had made "uneven progress".
Iraq's military, particularly the army, demonstrated the most improvement and showed promise of becoming a viable, independent security force over time, it said.
However, at present Iraqi forces continue to rely on the US military for support.
"The commission assesses that in the next 12 to 18 months there will be continued improvement in their readiness and capability, but not the capability to operate independently," the report said.
"With regard to external dangers, the evidence indicates that the Iraqi Security Forces will not be able to secure Iraqi borders against conventional military threats in the near term."
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