1 in 6 Iraqi police is dead, wounded, deserted or just disappeared
About one in six Iraqi policemen trained by U.S.
forces has been killed or wounded, has deserted or has just
disappeared.
I know a deputy sheriff who’d love one of these
Most Iraqi military units arriving in Baghdad for an American-led security crackdown have only 75 percent of their assigned soldiers, a senior Army general said Wednesday.
About one in six Iraqi policemen trained by U.S. forces has been killed or wounded, has deserted or has just disappeared.
Asked about Maj. Gen. Martin Dempsey’s disclosure of plans for another expansion of the Iraqi forces, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters traveling with him in Germany that it was “just a realistic assessment based on conditions on the ground” in Iraq. And he added that the size of the increase was uncertain.
Asked whether he expected the next Iraqi units to rotate into Baghdad to be even more thinly manned and less capable than those operating in the capital now, Dempsey replied, “I’m absolutely convinced that’s exactly what we’ll see.”
Dempsey characterized his assessment as “cautiously optimistic”.
Posted: Thu - June 14, 2007 at 09:00 AM