One of the many brave Iraq soldiers (Jundi) who are training with the Marines. Photo taken during the Feast of Eid at-Fitr, as the Iraqi 24, 23, 22 Battalions trained and served during their Ramadan holiday. "Ayamkum Saidah! (Photo from Bravo Battery In Iraq)In Northwest Baghdad, Iraqi Forces Stand Up, Slowly
-- Long War Journal
-- Long War Journal
BAGHDAD, IRAQ: As violence erupted across Shia areas of Baghdad last March, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph McLamb told the company commanders in his battalion that they had just one priority: “Do not let the Iraqi Army fail.” Faced with attacks in every area, from the Shula slums to upscale Kadhimiya, McLamb’s soldiers could have pushed the less competent Iraqi forces aside and taken on the fighters of the Mahdi Army themselves. In the colonel’s view, though, ensuring that the Iraqi Army did not appear weak before the local population was the goal of most pressing importance.
The Iraqi Army had a history of failure in Kadhimiya, the heart of the battalion’s zone. In April 2007, Mahdi Army fighters attacked a patrol of American paratroopers near the Kadhimayn mosque. Elements of the Iraqi Army battalion stationed in the area responded, but when the soldiers entered the fight, they did so on the side of the militia.
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My Comment: It will take a long time before Iraq's Army can function as an Army. But Iraq's internal political and ethnic problems will prolong this development .... how long .... I do not know.