More Than 1,000 Iraqi Soldiers Quit During Basra Fight

New York Times:

More than 1,000 Iraqi soldiers and policemen either refused to fight or simply abandoned their posts during the inconclusive assault against Shiite militias in Basra last week, a senior Iraqi government official said Thursday. Iraqi military officials said the group included dozens of officers, including at least two senior field commanders in the battle.

The desertions in the heat of a major battle cast fresh doubt on the effectiveness of the American-trained Iraqi security forces. The White House has conditioned further withdrawals of American troops on the readiness of the Iraqi military and police.

The crisis created by the desertions and other problems with the Basra operation was serious enough that Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki hastily began funneling some 10,000 recruits from local Shiite tribes into his armed forces. That move has already generated anger among Sunni tribesmen whom Mr. Maliki has been much less eager to recruit despite their cooperation with the government in its fight against Sunni insurgents and criminal gangs.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[rrafiringa]

Why would they kill their own? They could have family there.

[iPolitics]

Didn't the colonists quit during the Revolution against King George III? Nah. We wanted a revolution.

[Zentomato]

iPolitics, just the Tory's quit. (Tory = conservative) They also did not participate in dumping the tea into Boston Harbor nor were they apart in firing the shot heard round the world at Concord. They wanted to keep KIng George in power. It's all in the history books and the DSM.

[iPolitics]

I'm fully aware of the history. It was sarcasm hence the "nah" or no.

[Rog49Thomas]

Summer soldiers and sunshine patriots was the term applied during our Revolution to those who laid down the arms.

The common wisdom (which of course does not make it correct) was that roughly 33% or so of the colonists were loyal to George III. (An interesting parallel to our own day).
There were Tory armed bands which fought the Revolutionary Army - Joseph Brand or Brandt led one famous one.

After the war, some "folks" moved North to Canada so they could keep the King as their sovereign.

[1differentdrummer]

United Empire Loyalists. Today's Republicans.