The testimony submitted in today’s hearing (Catnip LIVE) contains the usual obfuscation, rose-colored views, and outright lies.  There is one – and only one – lie I’m concerned with:  that our forces are providing sufficient training for the Iraqis.  Rumsfeld testimony:

*  A year ago, six Iraqi Army battalions were in training.  Today, dozens of trained battalions are  capable of conducting anti-insurgent operations with Coalition support;

Trained?  Hardly.  Deployable?  No.  Deployed to the “kill zone”?  Yes.

::Arrogant Bastard::
How much training do we provide our people?  I called the USMC recruiter in our local city and reaffirmed that:

  •  All recruits must complete thirteen weeks of basic training;
  •  Infantry-assignees must complete an additional four-week combat school;
  •  If the unit they are asssigned to is being deployed, they will probably not travel until they’ve spent time with experienced units.

We do not send out people to a combat zone without proper training.

What training do the Iraqis receive?  From the testimony of Joseph A. Christoff (GAO) before the House Committee on Government Reform, 14 March 2005:

  •  Regular Army.  Eight weeks basic; before deployment units receive follow-on operational training. [No specifics]
  •  National Guard.  Abbreviated 3-week basic training.  Follow-on training similar to that given regular army.
  •  Commando Battalion.  Regular army basic training.  Instruction includes counter terrorism and unconventional warfare.
  •  Police.  New officers:  8-week academy training.  Serving officers:  3-week course.

Apparently difficult to even assess the readiness of the people trained:

U.S. government data does not provide reliable information on the status of Iraqi military and police forces. According to a March 2005 State  Department report, as of February 28, 2005, the Iraqi Ministry of Defense  had 59,695 operational troops, or roughly two thirds of the total required.
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The reported number of security forces overstates the number actually  serving. Ministry of Interior reports, for example, include police who  are absent without leave in its totals. Ministry of Defense reports  exclude the absent military personnel from its totals. According to  DOD officials, the number of absentees is probably in the tens of  thousands.
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MNF-I officials stated that, as of March 2005, MNF-I and the Iraqi  government do not yet have a system in place to assess the readiness of  Iraq’s various security forces to accomplish their assigned missions and tasks.
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The Departments of Defense and State do not provide additional  information on the extent to which trained Iraqi security forces have  their necessary equipment. As recently as September 2004, State issued  unclassified reports with detailed information on the number of  weapons, vehicles, communication equipment, and body amour  required by each security force compared to the amount received.

It comes down to this:  we require a minimum of 17 weeks of intense military training by arguably the best military force on the planet.  They are equipped with the best equipment this country has to offer, and a generally not deployed until they at least have a little time to learn from those who have been in combat.

In contrast we are training Iraqis to perform the same tasks after 8 weeks + ???? additional training, with insufficient equipment, in a combat zone in which they are known terrorist/insurgent/criminal targets.

When did it become “ok” to send 90-day wonders into combat?  We aren’t training them to fight.  We’re training them to die.  That is unconscionable.