2007年VOA标准英语-US Congressional Report Finds Flaws in Iraq For
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By Dan RobinsonCapitol Hill
27 June 2007
A bipartisan congressional report says Iraq's military and police forces are not capable of taking over responsibility for security, and U.S. forces continue to bear the burden of President Bush's military surge. VOA's Dan Robinson reports from Capitol Hill.
The House Armed Services Oversight2 and Investigations3 Subcommittee examined the training of Iraq's army and police, focusing on such issues as the Iraqi government's ability to support its own forces, and how various U.S. government agencies have handled the process.
In describing assumptions that Iraqi forces could be reformed as "seriously flawed," the 16-member panel says even now, with nearly 350,000 military and police, operational capability4 of Iraqi forces to take on the counter-insurgency fight cannot be determined5.
Saying that the Bush administration and Pentagon have focused on "numbers, rather than the quality, capability, and sustainability" of [Iraqi] forces, the report characterizes the capabilities6 of Iraqi forces as "very uneven7".
While some Iraqi army units appear to perform well, it says, Iraqi police have received less attention and have not been monitored sufficiently8 by U.S. and coalition9 partners.
| Congressman Martin Meehan (D-MA), with Todd Akin (R-MO) release report on Iraq security forces, 27 June 2007 |
On the Baghdad Security Plan, involving more than 20,000 U.S. troops working with Iraqis, the report says U.S. forces continue to take the lead, something that will likely slow transferring security burdens to Iraqis, at least in the short term.
The report says the Iraqi government is not yet able to fully12 fund its forces, with the defense13 and interior ministries14 not fully capable in planning, programming, budgeting, or procuring15 equipment, and "critically deficient16" in logistics and personnel accountability.
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| Congressman Todd Akin comments on Iraq security force report, 27 June 2007 |
The report comes as President Bush faces new pressures on Iraq, notably17 from key Republicans, such as Senator Richard Lugar, saying the time has come for the president to change direction.
"The issue before us is whether we will refocus our policy in Iraq on realistic assessments18 of what can be achieved and on a sober review of our vital interests in the Middle East," he said.
Presidential spokesman Tony Snow sought to portray19 Lugar's statements earlier this week on the Senate floor this way.
"What he is trying to come up with is a way of engaging regional powers and also Iraqi powers, the allies, in such a way as to deal with the ongoing20 problems they have had in terms of violence, but also build the institutions that are going to be absolutely necessary in order to have a safe and free and democratic Iraq," he said.
Lugar's statement was cited Wednesday by Tom Lantos, as he opened a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
"This troop escalation21 has in fact been a categorical and catastrophic failure," he said.
Testimony22 by Retired23 Major General John Batiste, a key critic of the president's Iraq strategy, supported findings of the House panel on weaknesses of Iraqi forces.
"The Iraqi security forces have taken horrendous24 casualties, but do not have the tools to replace U.S. combat formations," he said. "Whether we can trust these Iraqi formations quite frankly25 is another question. Our experience over the past four years is that most Iraqi formations, certainly not all, will either not show up for the fight, or will not hold their ground in the face of the insurgent26 for a myriad27 of reasons."
Among numerous recommendations, the House subcommittee report calls on the Pentagon to send to Congress by the end of July plans for transferring responsibility to Iraqi forces.
Others include a report on whether efforts to improve "deployability" of the Iraqi army are likely to succeed, steps to improve monitoring of Iraq's defense and interior ministries and a report on the extent to which sectarian and militia28 influences are at work in the Iraqi Armed Forces, and options to counter them.
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