U.S. military leaders seek ways to bolster Iraqi forces

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. military leaders are searching for ways to bolster the Iraqi forces following the Islamic State group's takeover of Ramadi earlier this month, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Thursday, May 28, highlighting the importance of training and equipping the Sunni tribal militias, an effort that has repeatedly failed to take hold amid sectarian tensions in Iraq.

Days after making the startlingly frank assessment that the Iraqi forces lack "the will to fight," Carter told reporters en route to Singapore with him that he called a special meeting of top military advisers and asked them to come up with options, according to the Associated Press.

President Barack Obama earlier this week said the U.S. and its allies must re-examine the effectiveness of U.S. military aid in Iraq.

"One particular way that's extremely important is to involve the Sunni tribes in the fight — that means training and equipping them," Carter said. "Those are the kinds of things the team back home is looking at."

But a senior defense official said Carter had ruled out providing weapons and training directly to the Sunni fighters and still wants to work through the Iraqi government, an approach that has been ineffective so far. The official was not authorized to describe the defense secretary's thinking publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Outmanned Islamic State forces took Ramadi on May 16 after Iraqi forces fled, despite superior numbers. The Obama administration has said that none of the Iraqi forces fighting in Ramadi, the capital of the Sunni heartland Anbar province, had been trained by the U.S.

In remarks to reporters in Washington, Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army chief of staff, said the Iraqi government has chosen to employ most of the U.S.-training Iraqi soldiers in and around Baghdad. Iraqi officials have complained that they are not getting the heavy military equipment they need fast enough.

Carter said that the events in Ramadi "highlighted the central importance of having a capable ground partner" in Iraq.

"I think training and equipment affect the effectiveness of the forces and therefore their ability to operate, and their confidence in their ability to operate," said Carter. "So, there's a direct relationship."

Officials said Carter met with Gen. Martin Dempsey, the Joint Chiefs chairman; Gen. Lloyd Austin, his top Middle East commander;, and other key policy officials Tuesday and told them he wanted options for improving and hastening the training and equipping program.

It's unclear how quickly the U.S. will move to adjust the training or speed up the delivery of equipment, even as the Iraqis mobilize to try and retake western Anbar Province, the AP says. The Obama administration has so far shown no inclination to commit more U.S. forces to Iraq or allow train and assist teams to move closer to the battlefront with smaller Iraqi units.