Iraqi Security Forces after U.S. Troop Withdrawal: An Iraqi Perspective
Abed Al-Jabouri, Najim
Strategic Forum, Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University, August 2009, #245, 6p
"As U.S. Armed Forces draw down in Iraq, there is increasing concern about the possibility of resurgent ethnic and sectarian tensions. Many Iraqis believe that the United States may be making a grave mistake by not fully using its remaining leverage to insulate the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) from the political influence of the incumbent Iraqi sectarian political parties. U.S. efforts to rebuild the ISF have focused on much needed training and equipment, but have neglected the greatest challenge facing the forces’ ability to maintain security upon U.S. withdrawal: an ISF politicized by ethno-sectarian parties. These ties pose the largest obstacle to the ISF in its quest to become genuinely professional and truly national in character."
Najim Abed Al-Jabouri, former mayor of Tel Afar, a predominantly Turkmen City in Northern Iraq, is a Senior fellow at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.
Go to the
essay at:
http://www.ndu.edu/inss/Strforum/SF245/SF245.pdf
A32/04-09. Posted August 27, 2009
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