U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Tasia Richards, right, examines munitions found on a river bank in the Arab Jabour district of Baghdad, Iraq, Feb. 16, 2009. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Daniel OwenFrom Yahoo News/AP:
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – As U.S. troops gradually curtail combat operations in Iraq, Iraqi soldiers are taking over the task of securing the country -- and for Iraqi special forces, that means hunting down insurgents and militiamen.
There are persistent doubts about Iraqi forces' readiness to take on an insurgency which, although weakened, is far from defeated and can still launch devastating attacks.
"We're absolutely killing them," General Fadel Barwari, commander of the Iraqi Special Operations Force (ISOF), said with more than a hint of aggression, sitting in an office adorned with a stuffed eagle and rows of automatic weapons.
"The insurgents were strong and look at them now. Their power is reduced all over. The special forces are part of that."
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My Comment:Iraq's military has made great strides in the past 5 years .... but everyone universally agrees that they do need some more time .... Iraq's Special Forces included. Another area of concern is Iraq's Intelligence Services. They have to be up to par with the Americans if they wish to have any impact against Al Qaeda .... but something tells me that they probably need even more time to become an effective force than the Iraq military.
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