"Paul J. Adam" wrote in message
...
"Kevin Brooks" wrote in message
...
Have you ever heard of OPSEC? Or the necessity of building a credible
reputation if you are going to avoid unnecessary bloodshed? Or to put it
in
the most basic terms, how willing would YOU be to put yourself into a
situation where you are engaging an insurgent threat and then find that
the
guys designated to provide covering fire for your rush to the objective
are
part-and-parcel of the same guys shooting back at you? Only an IDIOT
would
claim that placing known hostiles into your own security force would be
a
"wise" move.

You're very hard on your political and military leadership, Kevin.

No, Paul, but in your usual leap to jump on the nearest "US is Evillll in
Iraq..." bandwagon you have missed the obvious, namely that bit about
placing "known hostiles" in the security force. If you buy into that little
posit of Cook's, then I have obviously misjudged your military knowledge.
And BTW--merely having been a member of either the Iraqi Army or even the
IRGC does not necessarilly make one a "known hostile", OK?

Brooks



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...portaltop.html

+++++
Half Iraq's forces 'are traitors or deserters', by Toby Harnden in Baghdad
(Filed: 23/04/2004)

One in 10 members of Iraq's new security forces is actively helping
insurgents while 40 per cent have deserted, according to an American
general.

Major Gen Martin Dempsey, commander of the US army's 1st Armoured Division
in Baghdad, issued the bleakest coalition assessment yet of Iraqi security
capabilities.

Are the new Iraqi security forces prepared to face real danger?
He said that during recent uprisings "about 50 per cent of the security
forces that we've built over the past year stood tall and stood firm".
He added: "About 40 per cent walked off the job because they were
intimidated and about 10 per cent actually worked against us."
snip
Gen John Abizaid, the senior US commander in the Middle East, has
acknowledged that inadequate screening of Iraqi security force recruits
has
been a key failure in American training. Gen Dempsey said Iraqi forces had
been riddled with "infiltrators".
+++++

--
Paul J. Adam