Thread: Iraqi army not ready to take over until 2020, says country's top general

Sudani/Reuters

The Iraqi army is not ready to take over responsibility from the Americans, its most senior general has warned, as the White House insists the US army is on course to end its combat role in the country by the end of this month.

Lieutenant General Babakir Zebari told a defence conference in Baghdad that the Iraqi army would be unable to cope without backing from US forces.

He suggested the Iraqi army would be incapable of assuming control for another decade.

"If I were asked about the withdrawal, I would say to politicians: the US army must stay until the Iraqi army is fully ready in 2020," he said.
Iraqi army not ready to take over until 2020, says country's top general | World news | guardian.co.uk





Should we stay?

Originally Posted by ShawneeMoon

We pulled the last of the combat brigades out of Iraq today.

Have a link to that story??


Edit: Here's what I've found:
US Military Prepares to Leave Iraq, But May Stay If Asked

With Iraqi politicians still unable to form a government and two U.S. troop withdrawal deadlines looming, American and Iraqi officials are trading comments about the future of the bilateral defense relationship.

Thousands of U.S. combat troops are leaving Iraq every week, as the total American military presence in the country falls rapidly toward the target of 50,000 by the end of this month. Even with the deadline three weeks away, the Pentagon's TV channel noted the formal end of the U.S. combat mission last Saturday.

"The Fourth Brigade of the Second Infantry Division formally handed over security responsibilities to the Sixth Iraqi Army Division on Saturday, the final U.S. combat team to transfer control of combat operations back to the Iraqi military," a newscaster said.
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news...100517699.html



Looks like there's still a question???

If it is going to take them another 10 years for them to be ready after all this time then I doubt they'll be ready in 2020.

Originally Posted by ShawneeMoon

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I added an edit to post #3

In Iraq, combat troops head home to US with guitars, hope - CSMonitor.com

Originally Posted by Divine Wind

In Iraq, combat troops head home to US with guitars, hope - CSMonitor.com

Seems to be a few stories out there. Hopefully we are leaving but if there's any doubt.....should we stay or go?

Ya, "combat troops" are out of Iraq now, meaning anyone left is pretty much stuck at the FOB training troops/police and flying missions, outside of the occasional special forces mission (CT ops). Don't get it wrong, there's no such thing as a non-combat soldier, the presence of the remaining troops will be to ensure that there is no civil war, meaning it's likely we will still have a limited number of troops all the way to 2020, as we still do in Germany, Korea, and Japan. Considering Iraq's strategic location, I wouldn't be surprised to see such a permanent base stay for a very long time to counter threats in Iran, Yemen, Somalia, and other parts of the Middle East.