Mark Bowden of Blackhawk Down fame has penned a concise examination of the training of the new Iraqi military. His main focus is on Maj. James Lechner and his efforts to train the Iraqi military, namely the 7th Battalion. What Bowden and Maj. Lechner have discovered is that the officers and their higher ups within the Iraqi military aren't worth a flip. The Major has observed that there is more potential with regular enlisted men and NCO's and they're their to fight rather than for power. These enlisted men fought with diligence and courage and are the future and hope of Iraq's military. As for the officers, I think Bowden put it perfectly when he wrote:
It has become generally accepted wisdom that it was a mistake for the Coalition Provisional Authority to disband Saddam's army after American forces took Baghdad two years ago. If Maj. Lechner's experience is typical, then retaining the old force would have just created a whole different set of problems, and might well have further set back efforts to create a flexible, effective Iraqi army. Solving the problem in the 7th Battalion ultimately required rooting out nearly all of those officers who had served under the old regime.Such a revelation has also put a damper on the various Senators like Evan Bayh and Presidental aspirants like General Clark who complained that we should have never dismantled the Iraqi military in the first place. Oh well, you can't please everyone.
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