Iraqi Ambassador: U.S. dragging feet on equipping security forces

Above: Members 8th Iraqi Army, General Othman's Personal Security Detail train for a house clearing exercise near Camp Echo in May.

US is dragging its feet on equipping Iraqi forces, ambassador charges

Stung by criticism from Washington for its failure to move faster on political and security issues, the Iraqi government is pushing back – charging the US is not doing enough to equip Iraq's security forces...

Sumaidaie said it is counterproductive to leave Iraqi forces poorly equipped. US soldiers arrive at battle scenes in armored vehicles, while "Iraqi soldiers pile into the back of pickup trucks," he noted. "They see their American counterparts fully armed, and that is demoralizing for them"...

Sumaidaie says the slow US response has led Iraqi officials to turn to other sources. He cites a recent deal with China to sell high-powered rifles to the Iraqi military. "We prefer to work with our American friends," Sumaidaie said, but chided the US that patience is running short.

Read the rest at the Christian Science Monitor

U.S. must do more to arm Iraqi forces, says envoy

The United States is not doing enough to get arms and equipment to Iraq's forces who are often "cannon fodder" for insurgents, Iraq's ambassador to Washington said on Wednesday.

Ambassador Samir Sumaidaie told reporters he had complained repeatedly to Pentagon and other Bush administration officials, but there was still a delay in getting arms and other equipment to Iraq's military.

Readying Iraq's army to take over is central to the current 157,000 U.S. troops being able to start withdrawing from Iraq, which the United States invaded in March 2003.

"If we want them to stand up so that the Americans can stand down, help them to stand up. We have been waiting for equipment for bomb detection, all kinds of equipment. This has been a consistent theme right from 2003," Sumaidaie told reporters at the Iraqi Embassy in Washington.

Read the rest at Reuters/Alternet

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