23 February 2006
New Iraqi Security Forces Show Remarkable Progress
But continued coalition support needed, U.S. general says
By David I. McKeeby
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- In just two years, Iraq has built new military and police forces over 200,000-strong with help from coalition forces, says Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt of the U.S. military’s Central Command.
“Those Iraqi forces are fighting bravely, courageously. They still will need American and coalition support for some time into the future,” he told an audience at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce February 22.
The contrast from the first fielding of new Iraqi units in April 2004 is dramatic, Kimmitt said.
“In the first Fallujah operation, we tried to bring in one of the first Iraqi battalions into the fight. The troops never made it to the fight," he said.
In contrast, the Iraqi army currently numbers 80 battalions, half of which are engaged actively in daily combat operations, the U.S. general said. “They are learning the cold lessons in combat, the harsh lessons in combat that is accelerating their development.”
Even though there has been a great deal of progress, Kimmitt said, there is need for continued training and technical assistance from the United States and its coalition partners to build up the capabilities of the new security forces.
Full training will take “more than days and weeks. It's going to be months if not years,” Kimmitt said.
KIMMITT SAYS IRAQ’s NEIGHBORS MUST SUPPORT STABILIZATION
Iran and Syria must stop supporting activities that disrupt Iraq’s path to democracy, said Kimmitt.
“We call on those two countries to be part of the process of stabilization,” he said.
In particular, Kimmitt criticized Iran’s activities along its border with Iraq as “anything but helpful in the process of stabilization.”
“We continue to see specialized, improved and improvised explosive devices coming [into Iraq] from Iran," he said.
Kimmitt said that both countries’ contributions to continuing instability in Iraq are not in the region’s security interest.
Earlier in February, in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, said that Iraqi security forces are becoming increasingly able to address negative influences from Iran. (See related article.)
“We have continued to make very clear the fact that an unstable Iraq is probably not in the best interests of Iran, and they need to be helpful in the process of stabilizing Iraq,” said Kimmitt.
For additional information, see Iraq Update.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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