Perspective: U.S. hopes for reliability from Iraqi forces

WASHINGTON — President Bush's plan to secure Iraq by committing 21,500 more U.S. troops rests on a shaky foundation: the Iraqi military.

Recent reports by the Pentagon and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) say Iraqi security forces, primarily the military and police, suffer from a lack of training, supplies and availability.

Though 322,600 Iraqi security personnel had been trained and equipped by last month, "the number of present-for-duty soldiers and police is much lower," according to a Pentagon progress report released in December. That's because so many Iraqi troops are on scheduled leave, are absent without leave or have left the service entirely, the report says.

Things will change under the new plan, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday. Two Iraqi troops will join each U.S. soldier under the plan to secure Baghdad, he said.

How much the Iraqi military can be relied upon to provide the manpower, however, is uncertain. The Iraqi government promised six battalions last summer to help secure Baghdad; only two showed up.

Read the rest at USA Today