General Demspey: 14 provinces could be under Iraqi control by 2008, but 'being completely self-reliant is a ways off '

Iraqi police train on building clearing procedures at the Al Samud police station on May 17

Iraqi security forces should be in a position to take control of 14 of Iraq's 18 provinces by year's end, although they will not be ready to fight on their own for some time, a top U.S. general said on Sunday.

Giving a candid assessment of their capabilities, Lieutenant-General Martin Dempsey, in charge of U.S.-led efforts to reconstruct Iraq's security forces over the past 22 months, also said there was a critical shortage of good senior officers...

Dempsey's efforts to rebuild Iraq's security forces, which now comprise 154,000 soldiers and 194,000 policemen, have been dogged by accusations that the forces, especially the police, are beset by sectarianism, corruption and poor discipline...

"Seven provinces are under Iraqi control, by the end of the year potentionally most of the others. I'm a little concerned about Baghdad, Diyala, Salahaddin, Anbar. Fourteen of the provinces could certainly be handed over (but) being completely self-reliant is a ways off."

Read the rest at Reuters/Alternet

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