White House And Pentagon Agree That Iraqi Forces Remain Unprepared To Take Over Security Mission

As President Bush prepares to address the nation Thursday about the state of the Iraq War, The New York Times is reporting that the White House and Pentagon share Gen. David Petraeus' bleak assessment of the preparedness of the Iraqi security forces:

As the testimony concluded late on Wednesday, President Bush was preparing to lay out his plans for Iraq when he speaks from the Cross Hall of the White House on Thursday morning.

Senior officials said the president would almost certainly endorse General Petraeus's desire for sustained troop levels for at least 45 days after the final brigades from the troop increase leave. They said General Petraeus's assessment that Iraqi forces remained unprepared to take over the security mission was shared by the White House and the Pentagon.

Read the entire story.

Earlier: "We Haven't Turned Any Corners. We Haven't Seen Any Light At The End Of The Tunnel."

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Comments

[imusintheevening]

"Ok, fellas, we are out there spending our money and taking bullets for your faction in the ethno-sectarian competition, so let us know when you are ready to go out spend your money and take the bullets yourselves, but rest assured, we won't leave until you are ready."

So who in their right f**king mind would spend their own treasure and blood when we will do it for them? Certainly not the Maliki faction.

[desmirl]

When they stand up, we'll stand down. They're never going to stand up until the last US soldier is flying off into the distance. Support our troops--GET THEM OUT OF IRAQ!

[knowhelpnow]

Excuse me and why is this news?

[escobar]

Since the goal is to control the oil fields to the benifit of international oil corporations and to have a puppet government in place with a force strong enough to insure the revenues...Yea they are unprepared for that.
Would the life of the Iraqui people improve if the USA and it's bought and paid for "Allies" and mercinaries simply left no matter who ended up in control...of course.

[CharltonHestonsGUN]

The Hussein statue toppling 5 years ago was pure propaganda ... a staged controlled 'Pentagon/­Hollywood' operation.
The entire event was hailed as an equivalent of the Berlin Wall falling. The up close action video of the statue being destroyed was broadcast around the world as proof of a massive uprising. Still photos grabbed off of Reuters show a long-shot view of Fardus Square... it's empty save for the U.S. Marines, the International Press, and a small handful of Iraqis. There are no more than 200 people in the square at best. The Marines have the square sealed off and guarded by tanks. A U.S. mechanized vehicle is used to pull the statue of Saddam from it's base.

[desmirl]

In Basra recently, more than 1,000 uniformed Iraqis (Including their officers) ran from the fight. If they have no more desire for the conflict than that, WHY THE HELL ARE WE PROPPING THEM UP? It's not going to get any better.

[NotWaldo]

The US military was unprepared for the looting that took place after the invasion. The US military was unprepared for the insurgency.

Now, five years into this thing, Iraqi forces are still unprepared to take over the security of their own country. Maybe they learned that from the americans!

[SonnyBono]

Noticed General Petraeus on the telly last night - he had a Bronze Star - couldn't tell if it was for merit or valor - but would really like to know how a guy who didn't see a shooting war until five years ago and then as a general officer got a Bronze Star - for valor? I wonder if he has a Silver Star, too?

No wonder all the politicians buy his brand of BS - their hearts get all aflutter over this manly man. Can anyone tell me if Chris Matthews soiled his panties over Petraeus? And didn't the great and mighty General Petraeus have some connection with the training of the new and improved Iraqi army?

Note to all rightwing nut jobs that might be tuning in - Am I questioning the integrity and honor of the great General Petraeus? Well, let me see, why, yes, yes, I believe I am - after all he is just the office boy for the Bush/Cheney crime organization - gets coffee and runs up to Capitol Hill and lies to Congress.

[tumblewind]

They aren't ever going to be prepared to take over the country as long as Bush cronies are handling the job. It's been the same old sad story with everything this twit has done. FAILURE!!!!!! It follows him like a dark cloud over his head. The only way Iraq will ever survive is to put another dictator like Saddam in power. Let him start imprisoning, busting a few heads and killing. Then it might get solved. It's a sad fact of life! That's why this invasion of Iraq has been such a mistake. It never should have happened to begin with. Anyone who had knowledge of the region knew this was what was going to happen....civil war! There are just some people in this world incapable of living together in peace without a strong dictator to quash any rebellion in them. If George would have have had a brain in his head he would have left them alone.

[1differentdrummer]

What kind of military operation does not know precisely what the overall situation is every day?

[Counterglow]

This puppet government will be ready to take over responsibility for its own security on the same day it's strong enough to commit genocide against the Sunnis and Kurds and butcher the leaders of the other Shiite groups it doesn't get along with. The US is sitting on a pressure cooker. The moment it leaves, these people will be at each others' throats like pit bulls at a dog fight.

The most ironic part of the whole idiotic situation is that the clear winner in the whole mess will be Iran. When he finally slinks out of the White House, George Bush will leave quite a legacy. Every country in his so-called "Axis of Evil" will be in better shape to inflict damage on its neighbors and the United States than it was before he took office.

[Nyla785]

We've been training these Iraqi forces for HOW long now??? And they still can't get the cajones to take over? And the police forces is completely unreliable? How are we going to 'train' them out of their divided loyalties in that country? This is a fool's errand--that we are paying for and will be for years to come--while our own country goes down the tubes.

[win2kpro]

What the hell does "shrub" know about war strategy? The closest he ever came to war was parking his no good ass on a barstool in Alabama.

[markusmarkus]

I won't be watching, that's for sure. Well, maybe if I turn off the sound and try to guess what booosh is mouthing. I mean one lie is as good as any other lie.

[fcsakes]

W, here is the only thing you could possibly say that would imbue your *presidency* with any kind of legitimacy, "I am stepping down now."

PLEASE!!! for the good of the country you profess to care about, get OUT of the White House NOW!