Iraq's Army Is Short Of Everything

Iraqi troops abandoning their weaponry, stripping off their uniforms and fleeing after Islamic State's takeover of Mosul in June 2014. Photo: AFP

Washington Post: U.S. visit highlights obstacles to an Iraqi offensive on Mosul

BESMAYA, Iraq – At this bleak and dusty military outpost south of Baghdad, soldiers from Iraq’s 9th Armored Division say they are ready to fight the Islamic State. Just give them the right weapons.

Maj. Mohamed Abdul Kareem al-Kadhim, one of about 1,200 Iraqi soldiers undergoing training here, said he and his fellow troops have already received M16 rifles. But they are waiting for the government to provide heavy rounds needed for exercises on their T-72 Soviet-era tanks. Until then, he said, they will improvise the best they can.

Some of the 9th Division troops receiving instruction from Spanish, Portuguese, British and American trainers at Besmaya are seasoned soldiers who have fought against Islamic State militants in Ramadi and elsewhere. But many from Kadhim’s unit, recruits both young and old, have only a few weeks in uniform after being pulled from civilian work to reinforce the battle against the well-armed extremist group.

Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the top U.S. military officer, reviewed the training efforts at Besmaya on Thursday during a visit to Iraq aimed in large part at assessing progress toward an eventual campaign against militants in Mosul, the important northern city that has been under Islamic State control for almost two years.

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WNU Editor: Much of the equipment the Iraqi military needs was left abandoned when the Islamic State launched their offensive in 2014. And while President Obama expects Mosul to fall by the end of this year .... President Obama: 'Mosul Will Fall By End Of Year' .... as this Washington Post report reveals, the Iraqi army is nowhere near ready to accomplish such a goal .... and as Iraq's political and sectarian divisions deepen .... US Aids Iraqi Army, But Sectarian Tensions Threaten Prime Minister Abadi’s Future (IBTimes) .... I would venture that they would not even be ready for next year.