Nearly half of new Iraq army has quit

[MrFun]

Nah -- his desktop is a picture of Abe Lincoln swinging by the neck from a sour apple tree.

[DAVOUT]

In fact, the Iraqi Army is the training center of the US contractors. Once the training is satisfactorily completed, they join the contractor milice with a much better salary.

Just joking of course.

However ....

[Ned]

They are still discussing recalling the some of the Iraqi Army. But why the procrastination? Media who have had interviews with the resistance report that they are a mixed force of former Iraqi soldiers and fedayeen taking orders from commanding officers of the former regime. Recalling the army will quickly identify who are the resistance to the extent that they do not show up. To the extent they do show up, they will no longer be able to participate in the resistance.

Regardless of the spin issue, training one battalion every six months will not build an adequate army in our lifetimes. Something radical has to be done to fix this.

Now, if the democrats had focused their criticism of Bush's policy in this direction instead of insisting that we turn administration of Iraq over to Annan and his French and German friends, I might have supported their criticism. It is good to see at least two Senators urging faster Iraqifaction. Gringrich is also urging it. But, AFAIK, none of the Democrat candidates are.

[PLATO]

Originally posted by MrFun
Nah -- his desktop is a picture of Abe Lincoln swinging by the neck from a sour apple tree.

I want one!

The 700 man battalion was designed to form a core of the new army. The qualifications were pretty strict on getting in...No Baath party membership...no previous governmental associations...no criminal record.

It is a little sad that they were not successful in getting it up and running. Perhaps they should recruit 1200 and make a competition for the 700 slots and then actually pay these guys something. I mean...c'mon...How many billions did we appropriate and we pay the core of their army 60 bucks a month?

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by MrFun
Nah -- his desktop is a picture of Abe Lincoln swinging by the neck from a sour apple tree.

That'd be mine, except I wouldn't want to so tarnish a rope or even a sour apple tree.

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Ned
They are still discussing recalling the some of the Iraqi Army. But why the procrastination?

Because the ex-army is TOAB.

Media who have had interviews with the resistance report that they are a mixed force of former Iraqi soldiers and fedayeen taking orders from commanding officers of the former regime.

"Former soldiers" as in SRG, IRG, not regular conscripts.

Recalling the army will quickly identify who are the resistance to the extent that they do not show up. To the extent they do show up, they will no longer be able to participate in the resistance.

Oh yeah, like VC were never able to infiltrate the hell out of RF/PF and ARVNs.

Civilians.

Regardless of the spin issue, training one battalion every six months will not build an adequate army in our lifetimes. Something radical has to be done to fix this.

The idea is that you're training the future cadres that will become senior NCO's and will themselves take over training the new professional army.

[MrFun]

Originally posted by MichaeltheGreat


That'd be mine, except I wouldn't want to so tarnish a rope or even a sour apple tree.

[PLATO]

Originally posted by MichaeltheGreat


That'd be mine, except I wouldn't want to so tarnish a rope or even a sour apple tree.

Didn't think about the rope and tree...

[Bosh]

I'm willing to bet a good sized chunk of the army that the US disbanded is out there taking pot shots at us know. I know there wasn't of it left in any kind of organized form by the end of the war but they should have grabbed anyone they could and sent em out to training camps and pay 'em to do line-dancing or whatever just to keep as many piss-off unemployed men with military training off the streets as possible. Disbanding what was left of the Iraqi and not at least trying to reconstitute it immediately was probably the biggest mistake of this whole mess.