Report: U.S. military has serious doubt in Iraq troops

Above, top: Soldiers from the 5th Iraqi Army Division run through a smoke screen in Baqubah as Soldiers from the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team follow during 'Operation Arrohead Ripper'. Above, bottom: A Soldier from the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team stands guard as residents of Baqubah crowd in to receive food and water from Iraqi and coalition forces. Both pictures are from Friday.

BAGHDAD - American military commanders now seriously doubt that Iraqi security forces will be able to hold the ground that U.S. troops are fighting to clear — gloomy predictions that strike at the heart of Washington's key strategy to turn the tide in Iraq.

Several senior American officers have warned in recent days that Iraqi soldiers and police are still incapable of maintaining security on their own in the most crucial areas, including Baghdad and the recently reclaimed districts around Baqouba to the north.

Iraqi units are supposed to be moving into position to take the baton from the Pentagon. This was the backbone of the plan President Bush announced in January when he ordered five more U.S. brigades, or about 30,000 soldiers, to Iraq. The goal is to reduce the violence to a level where the Iraqis can cope so that Americans can begin to go home...

Iraqi forces may be able to handle security in the Kurdish north and parts of the Shiite south. But that would face huge challenges in Baghdad and surrounding provinces where Sunni insurgents are deeply entrenched. The Americans then would face the dilemma of maintaining substantial forces in Iraq for years — perhaps a politically untenable option — or risk the turmoil spreading to other parts of the Middle East.

Read the rest at MSNBC

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