|
WASHINGTON D.C. (May 23, 2008) - Iraq's security forces should
be manned to near capacity by the end of the year, a senior
coalition official said yesterday.
"Force generation has been the focus of our efforts and still
really remains the focus of our efforts up to now," British army
Brigadier Johnny Torrens-Spence, deputy commander of Multinational
Security Transition Command Iraq, said in a teleconference with
online journalists and bloggers.
Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq's job is to
generate and sustain Iraqi security forces, not to be directly
involved in combat operations, Torrens-Spence said.
"Our job is to help the Iraqis grow, ... sustain ... and develop
their military forces," said Torrens-Spence. "Once grown and
developed, in effect what we do is pass those forces across to the
field commanders, and they then conduct operations on behalf of the
fight."
Torrens-Spence said the command has come up with four conditions
to help the Iraqi Interior and Defense ministries increase the
capability of their security forces: generating more forces,
developing the Iraqi forces' capability to operate independently,
improving the institutional capability of the ministries, and
continuing to focus on professionalism and minimizing sectarian
trends.
"We've been very happy with the way [the force generation] has
gone in general terms," he said.
The Iraqi army had 100,000 soldiers in January 2007,
Torrens-Spence said. By the end of 2008, officials expect the Iraqi
army will have grown to more than 200,000 soldiers, he said. The
Iraqi army will have grown by 220 percent in two years, he added.
Growth rates in the Iraqi police, navy, and air force have been
equivalent to that of the army, Torrens-Spence said.
The rapid growth has caused some stresses and strains in other
areas, Torrens-Spence acknowledged, but he said he believes that
will end soon because of less focus on force generation.
"There's generally an acceptance that the raw growth in the
security forces will start to tail off at the back end of this
year, and we are already shifting our focus. ... We'll be focusing
more on the second one of those four categories - growing
enablers," he explained.
"A big priority now for us is developing the logistics
capability, rather than the command and control, and developing the
surveillance and target acquisition capability," he said. "The
shift in focus [is] from just growing the force, into turning it
into a more coherent force."
By focusing on the first two conditions, Torrens-Spence said, he
believes the third condition will develop as a result.
"[The Iraqis'] budget is improving fast. ... Their strategic
planning capability is also improving fast, and there are growing
signs that [the interior and defense] ministries are turning into
functioning institutions," he said.
Finally, he said, the professionalism condition could take
generations of effort.
"The worst of the sectarian violence in the country has
declined, we have seen increasing signs of improvements and
reductions in the ministries," Torrens-Spence said. "In fact, I
think the Ministry of Defense is leading the charge in this area.
We now have an increasing, coherent inspector general, and internal
procedures and regimens to manage aspects of nonprofessional
behavior."
Torrens-Spence also explained that the money used in the war is
very important to accomplishing and completing the mission.
"We are able to apply this money where it has a quick and
immediate effect to accelerate Iraqi growth, [and] where it's
needed to provide the maximum value for us and for the Iraqi
military and police," he said. "So the money is valuable; we need
to continue to use it, use it wisely, and I think it's fair to say,
over time, less of it will be required."
|
