Expert: Iraqi forces training exaggerated, to remain dependent on U.S. for years

New Iraqi soldiers with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division train on entering a building on May 13.

WASHINGTON, May 16 (UPI) -- Progress in training and developing Iraqi security forces has been exaggerated, a U.S. expert said Wednesday.

"Some unclassified reporting ... has exaggerated this progress and Iraqi success to date," Anthony H. Cordesman, who holds the Arleigh A. Burke chair in strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, said in a statement Wednesday.

"It is going to take well over a year to bring the Iraqi Army to the level of readiness it needs to assume responsibility for most security activity, and it will then remain dependent on the United States for air support, artillery, armor, ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), and some aspects of sustainability. A strong advisory effort, including embeds, may be needed for several years to come," Cordesman said.

Read the rest at UPI

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