US faced with Iraqi Army turncoats

[Barrett808]

Source: Christian Science Monitor

US faced with Iraqi Army turncoats
By Sam Dagher, Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
Tue Jul 10, 4:00 AM ET

Khalis, Iraq - As the US military continues to move through Diyala Province to uproot Al Qaeda fighters hidden amid its villages, an emerging foe may be helping to erode many of the successes the Americans are having in the three-week-old operation "Arrowhead Ripper."

According to Iraqi soldiers and US officers, militants linked to Al Qaeda are using tribal and family connections and, in some cases, also providing financial incentives to members of the Iraqi Army to help them remain strong and evade capture.

...

In interviews with Iraqi soldiers from the battalion based in Khalis, about 10 miles northwest of the provincial capital Baquba, some troops allege that Sunni and Shiite officers cooperate, respectively, with Al Qaeda-linked militants and Shiite militias. They say that this ranges from turning a blind eye to illegal checkpoints to actually facilitating the transit of weapons, ammunition, and cash through the checkpoints manned by the Iraqi Army.

A US Army officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, goes even further.

"There have been reports of Iraqi Army units transporting weapons for militias and insurgents in military vehicles," he says, adding that some officers even receive money from truckers in return for assurances that the roads on which their convoys travel will be protected.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20070710/ts_csm/oturncoats

[grytpype]

1. So the Iraqi Army is fighting us while we are standing it up.

And the Iraqi Police are even worse.

Shit yes let's stay the course. Things can only get better.

[bemildred]

2. Gee, who could have predicted this?

Patriotic Iraqis sabotaging the stooge government and it's Potemkin army? Has that sort of thing ever happened before?