Marines in Iraq Expanding Adviser Teams

WASHINGTON -- A step ahead of his Pentagon bosses, a colonel in Iraq's troubled Anbar province is moving Marines out of combat slots to expand U.S. teams advising Iraqi army units.

Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon by videoconference from his headquarters in the city of Fallujah, Col. Lawrence D. Nicholson said Friday the teams have been doubled in size and he has proposed doubling them yet again.

"We think that is clearly the way ahead," he said, adding that the Iraqis have proven themselves to be good "mimics," emulating the tactics and procedures used by the Americans to be more effective against insurgents.

The top U.S. commander for the Middle East, Gen. John Abizaid, told a Senate committee on Wednesday that he was recommending expanding the size of U.S. adviser teams across Iraq, but no decision had been made.

The advisers, who undergo specialized training in the United States, are placed in Iraq army and police units to coach Iraqis on how to plan and execute combat missions, and to deter corruption and other abuses.

Abizaid told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he was not sure whether an expansion of the adviser mission could be accomplished without increasing somewhat the total number of Marines and soldiers in Iraq.

Read the rest at the Washington Post

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