Analysis: Despite increased training efforts, Iraqi army still not ready to defend Fallujah alone

The shadow of a US marine is seen on a bullet-riddled wall during a foot patrol in the Fallujah

FALLUJAH, Iraq: It's been two years since U.S. forces overran this dangerous western city, triggering the bloodiest urban combat of the war. Now, heavily armed insurgents are returning, but Iaqi soldiers undergoing American training to defend Fallujah still aren't ready to face the front lines on their own.

U.S. teams say training efforts have been severely undermined by corruption and bureaucracy, a dearth of basic equipment and Iraqi soldiers' mistrust of those from different Muslim backgrounds and lack of faith in the fledgling central government.

Iraqi commanders acknowledge they can't handle a city as large and volatile as Fallujah without American support — especially with their country teetering on the edge of civil war between its Shiite Arab majority and Sunni minority.

"It's something we keep in mind, that one day coalition forces are going to leave. But it can't be now," said 1st Lt. Hamazah Adman, head of intelligence for the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division.

"We can say that two years may be enough," he said.

There are more than 400 U.S. adviser teams in Iraq, and Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. forces in the Middle East, has said he recommends expanding those teams as America looks for a new direction in the war.

Not waiting for Washington, U.S. Marine Col. Lawrence D. Nicholson, commander of Regimental Combat Team 5 in the overwhelmingly Sunni, insurgent-dominated province of al-Anbar, began moving troops from combat to adviser teams in January. Those efforts have increased the average size of training teams in an area that includes Fallujah from about 10 to between 15 and 20 Marines.

A city of 300,000 which lay in ruins after fierce fighting in November 2004, the lights and water are back on and many residents who fled have returned to Fallujah. The Iraqi army now patrols more than 60 percent of the city, helping to battle insurgents who have killed scores of Marines with roadside bombs, ambushes and snipers.

During a recent late-night operation, Marine helicopters and humvees cordoned off the southern district of Nazaal and two U.S. companies went house-to-house, hunting for guns, explosives and suspected insurgents. An Iraqi company backed by three American advisers conducted its own search of one section of the neighborhood.

"They are our people and they are just doing their duty," said Abed El-Rahem, who sat in his socks on a couch while soldiers traipsed through his home, tracking mud on fine embroidered carpets.

Except for one red-faced moment when his soldiers attempted to search the same house twice, the operation went smoothly, though the Iraqi army recovered just one rifle in four hours of searching.

"Things are so violent that the people can't come to us for help, so we come to them," said Col. Abd al-Majeed Nasser, who led the raid.

Like many U.S. advisers across Iraq, Marines from the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion's Military Transition team live with the Iraqi army, sharing separate ends of a heavily fortified former health club.

But the Americans complain that much of their time is spent ensuring Iraqi soldiers are paid on time and in-full by the government in Baghdad and that they receive basic equipment such as flashlights and gloves.

Higher-ups pocket supplies meant for the troops beneath them and many soldiers sell their uniforms and boots while home on leave, then return demanding new ones.

"Most of the time we can't advise. We are too busy running around protecting ourselves from attack or just making sure the army has the basics," said Sgt. Thomas J. Ciccarelli, 37, from South Lake Tahoe, California.

Part of the problem is the Iraqis don't have enough soldiers to patrol Fallujah. Officially, the 2nd Brigade of the army's 1st Division is more than 700 men from full strength, but problems with understaffing are actually far worse than the statistics indicate because of desertions and "ghost" soldiers who exist on paper and cash pay checks, but have never report for duty.

Read the rest at the International Herald Tribune