Iraqi security forces grow, violence doesn't drop

[Barrett808]

Iraqi security forces grow, violence doesn't drop
By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - Iraqi government security forces have grown by about 100,000 soldiers and police in the past year thanks to U.S. training efforts, but this big expansion has not translated into a drop in violence.

The creation of Iraqi forces able to assume security duties for their own nation has been a cornerstone of a U.S. strategy that envisions the American troop presence, now at 127,000, shrinking as Iraqi forces grow in size and capability.

"As you well know, our standards are: as Iraqis stand up, the coalition will be able to stand down," President George W. Bush told reporters last month.

Since the U.S. decision to disband deposed President Saddam Hussein's military in the weeks after his government was toppled in a U.S.-led invasion in 2003, U.S. efforts to rebuild Iraqi security forces from scratch has proceeded in fits and starts.

...

"It's increasingly clear that the stand up of the Iraqi security forces is not going to reduce the level of violence, in and of itself. On the other hand, it could still provide the necessary pretext for reducing the American presence," said Lexington Institute defense analyst Loren Thompson.

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