Retired Marine General James Jones, a former NATO commander, helmed an independent inquiry into the state of the Iraqi security forces, and his top line is simple enough: the Army is incrementally improving, while the police are a shambles. Forces under the control of the Defense Ministry, “one of the better-functioning agencies” in Iraq are getting better at counterinsurgency, but they won’t be able to operate without U.S. assistance for the next year to 18 months. Meanwhile, the Shiite-dominated Interior Ministry, which controls the police, is an obstacle to a competent, non-sectarian force. (Read Jones’ conclusions here.)
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=179986