Iraq army struggles to keep Sunni troops

[deadparrot]

RAMADI, Iraq - Their televised graduation was supposed to be a moment of national celebration: A class of 1,000 Sunni Arab soldiers emerging from basic training would show Iraqis that the country's worsening religious divide was not afflicting the national army. Two months later, only about 300 of them have reported for duty, U.S. officials say.

The evaporation of the class underscores the struggling U.S. and Iraqi effort to increase recruitment from the disgruntled Sunni Arab minority, which forms the backbone of the insurgency.

The success or failure of the effort holds broad ramifications, especially as U.S. forces begin to hand control of troublesome Sunni cities and neighborhoods to Iraqi soldiers, most of whom are now Shiites and Kurds.

Unless more Sunnis join up, soldiers from one sect will increasingly target the hometowns of the other sects — without U.S. supervision.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060714/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_sunni_soldiers

[annabanana]

1. Is this the class that started taking off their uniforms

as soon as they were told they'd be deployed to areas other than Sunni dominated areas? Or was that another crowd?

[Tarheel_Dem]

2. well, wonder how much it cost to train them...

to turn around and kill us? I wish someone could give me a valid reason for our staying there & the old standard "devolve into civil war" meme just won't cut it anymore. Why are we so hesitant to call it what is, Iraq is in civil warfare, and I don't think our presence is helping the situation at all.

[Amonester]

3. Iraq isn't in a civil war, (said war criminal PNAC'er Amb-a$$-ador).

In Iraq, brutal sectarian violence has resurged, with the death toll of the last three days passing 100. U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad acknowledged this week that new Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki's plan to pacify Baghdad hasn't achieved its goals. But Iraq isn't in a civil war, he insisted.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/15023952.htm

Repeat, wash, rinse, cash-in, repeat, wash, rinse, cash-in, repeat...

[sabra]

4. kick

[Eugene]

5. K & R

The Bushies insist that Iraq is not in a civil war.
If it isn't, they are certainly setting the stage
with this. Heckuvajob guys.

[krkaufman]

6. So how many of the 700 who haven't shown up for duty....

... are now fighting in the insurgency, or simply committing acts of violence?

[wellst0nev0ter]

7. I Know I'm Giving Bushco Too Much Credit Here

but I hope we didn't give them guns before they bolted.