Agence France Presse, 02 February 2006
Stubborn sectarian rifts are hampering the development of local security forces destined to eventually take over from American troops in Iraq, the United States's intelligence chief said.
John Negroponte, director of national intelligence, told a Senate committee that Iraq's survival as a state after the ouster of Saddam Hussein in 2003 depended on establishment of "bold, inclusive leadership."
But he echoed concerns by defense and political analysts that splits between the country's majority Shiite Muslims, Kurds and Sunnis were stalling efforts to build cohesive Iraqi security forces.
"Iraqi security forces require better command and control mechanisms to improve their effectiveness and are experiencing difficulty in managing ethnic and sectarian divides among their units and personnel," he said.
US officials have reported training and equipping more than 200,000 Iraqi troops as part of a budding force that would take over from the current 160,000 Americans trying to tame a raging insurgency.
But analysts have expressed concern the Iraqis had yet to create any significant multi-ethnic units and were splitting the armed forces into sectarian factions that could end up fighting one another.
Negroponte gave a mixed assessment of US fortunes in the war, which has become increasingly unpopular with the US public and contributed to the declining popularity of President George W. Bush.
Among the encouraging developments, he told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, were:
-- The fact the insurgents had not been able to establish any lasting territorial control, attract popular support beyond their Sunni Arab base and coordinate nationwide operations.
-- The move by Iraqi security forces to take on more demanding missions and their "incremental progress" toward operational independence from the Americans.
-- Signs of open conflict between Sunni Islamic militants and nationalist elements in the insurgency which are "encouraging and exploitable."
-- Large-scale Sunni participation in the December elections for a permanent parliament, which Negroponte called "a first step toward diminishing Sunni support for the insurgency."
Beyond the problems in building the Iraqi security forces, Negroponte cited other challenges facing the US operation:
-- Lingering dissatisfaction in the Sunni community, the ruling elite of Iraq under Saddam. He said this discontent "is likely to remain high in 2006" and fuel the insurgency even after the formation of a new government.
-- The insurgents' continuing ability to recruit, supply, and attack coalition and Iraqi forces.
-- The insurgents' use of increasingly lethal improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and their ability to adapt to US countermeasures, which remain the "most significant day-to-day threat to coalition forces."
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Citation: "Iraqi forces beset by sectarian differences: US intelligence czar," Agence France Presse, 02 February 2006.
Original URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060202/wl_mideast_afp/usiraqnational
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