U.S. says Iraqi security forces' abilities limited

[tocqueville]

U.S. says Iraqi security forces' abilities limited
By Will Dunham and Vicki Allen
40 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Only half of Iraq's police battalions are capable of carrying out operations against insurgents and two-thirds of army battalions and the rest of the police are no more than "partially capable," according to a U.S. military assessment made public on Thursday.

"Only a small number of Iraqi Security Forces are taking on the insurgents and terrorists by themselves," according to an unclassified assessment provided to the Senate Armed Services Committee by Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Pace's assessment was provided to reporters on the same day the Pentagon gave lawmakers, more than a week late, a 23-page congressionally mandated report on the status of Iraq on political, economic and security fronts.

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