Army journal cites problems with Iraqis (AP)

[Eugene]

Wednesday, November 1, 2006 · Last updated 1:52 p.m. PT

Army journal cites problems with Iraqis

By JOHN MILBURN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

TOPEKA, Kan. -- Iraqi soldiers being trained by American military advisers
go on rampages, flee from dangerous situations and waste ammunition in
undisciplined bursts of fire at any provocation, according to an account
in a U.S. Army journal.

In contrast to the iron discipline imposed during Saddam Hussein's regime,
"the new army serves the cause of freedom, and officers and soldiers alike
are a bit confused about what this means," Lt. Col. Carl D. Grunow wrote
in the July-August issue of Military Review.

Iraqi soldiers frequently use excessive force, going on retaliatory rampages
after colleagues are killed by insurgents, Grunow wrote in the journal, a
publication of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

-snip-

"As of this writing, the only power holding them is the promise of a paycheck
(not always delivered) and a sense of duty. Good soldiers leave after receiving
terrorist threats against their families," Grunow wrote.

-snip-

Full article: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Training_Iraqis.html

Original article: Advising Iraqis: Building the Iraqi Army - Military Review (pdf)

Grunow's article doesn't fault the Iraqis exclusively and
is oriented toward the work that needs to be done.