US officials fudging Iraq army numbers
March 16, 2005
US commanders and Bush Administration officials are overstating the number of Iraqi security forces on duty, providing an inaccurate picture of the so-called training mission that is the US military's "exit strategy" in Iraq, a government audit agency has reported.
The Pentagon in its latest figures said 142,000 Iraqis had been trained as police and soldiers. But the Government Accountability Office said on Monday this figure included tens of thousands of Iraqi policemen who left their jobs with no explanation.
The office also said the State Department six months ago ceased providing auditors with information about the number of Iraqi troops issued flak vests, weapons and communications equipment.
The unreliability of the data coming from Baghdad made it difficult to provide an accurate accounting of the billions of dollars the US Government is spending to train and equip Iraq's army and police force, an official told a congressional committee.
"Without reliable information, Congress may find it difficult to judge how federal funds are achieving the goal of transferring security responsibilities to the Iraqis," Joseph Christoff, the office's director of international affairs and trade, told the House Government Reform subcommittee on international relations.
Although the Defence Department has conducted several internal evaluations of the US training mission in Iraq, the office is the first government agency to challenge as inflated the figures the Pentagon uses to chart the progress of Iraqi troops.
Specifically, the office criticised the Pentagon's decision to include in its totals of trained and equipped Iraqi troops "tens of thousands" of police officers absent without leave. The most recent Pentagon figures show nearly 82,000 Iraqis have gone through US police training.
"If you are reporting AWOLs in your numbers, I think there's some inaccuracy in your reporting," Mr Christoff said after the hearing.
The progress of the training mission has become a politically charged issue, with Democrats claiming the Bush Administration is misrepresenting the number of trained Iraqis at work.
During confirmation hearings for Condoleezza Rice to become Secretary of State, senators challenged her assertion the Pentagon had trained more than 120,000 Iraqi policemen and soldiers.
That number, they said, included more than 50,000 police officers who were given as little as three weeks basic training.
According to Pentagon figures, more than 142,000 soldiers and policemen have been trained and equipped.
The US has spent $5.8billion ($7.36 billion) training and equipping Iraqi forces since April 2003, and this week the House of Representatives is expected to vote on a supplementary budget request that includes an additional $5.7billion devoted to training.
Los Angeles Times
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/03/15/1110649202833.html
March 16, 2005
US commanders and Bush Administration officials are overstating the number of Iraqi security forces on duty, providing an inaccurate picture of the so-called training mission that is the US military's "exit strategy" in Iraq, a government audit agency has reported.
The Pentagon in its latest figures said 142,000 Iraqis had been trained as police and soldiers. But the Government Accountability Office said on Monday this figure included tens of thousands of Iraqi policemen who left their jobs with no explanation.
The office also said the State Department six months ago ceased providing auditors with information about the number of Iraqi troops issued flak vests, weapons and communications equipment.
The unreliability of the data coming from Baghdad made it difficult to provide an accurate accounting of the billions of dollars the US Government is spending to train and equip Iraq's army and police force, an official told a congressional committee.
"Without reliable information, Congress may find it difficult to judge how federal funds are achieving the goal of transferring security responsibilities to the Iraqis," Joseph Christoff, the office's director of international affairs and trade, told the House Government Reform subcommittee on international relations.
Although the Defence Department has conducted several internal evaluations of the US training mission in Iraq, the office is the first government agency to challenge as inflated the figures the Pentagon uses to chart the progress of Iraqi troops.
Specifically, the office criticised the Pentagon's decision to include in its totals of trained and equipped Iraqi troops "tens of thousands" of police officers absent without leave. The most recent Pentagon figures show nearly 82,000 Iraqis have gone through US police training.
"If you are reporting AWOLs in your numbers, I think there's some inaccuracy in your reporting," Mr Christoff said after the hearing.
The progress of the training mission has become a politically charged issue, with Democrats claiming the Bush Administration is misrepresenting the number of trained Iraqis at work.
During confirmation hearings for Condoleezza Rice to become Secretary of State, senators challenged her assertion the Pentagon had trained more than 120,000 Iraqi policemen and soldiers.
That number, they said, included more than 50,000 police officers who were given as little as three weeks basic training.
According to Pentagon figures, more than 142,000 soldiers and policemen have been trained and equipped.
The US has spent $5.8billion ($7.36 billion) training and equipping Iraqi forces since April 2003, and this week the House of Representatives is expected to vote on a supplementary budget request that includes an additional $5.7billion devoted to training.
Los Angeles Times
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/03/15/1110649202833.html
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 3:39 PM
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