Apparently, more than 1,000 Iraqi troops deserted during the battle with Shiite Muslims in Basra:
BAGHDAD — More than 1,000 Iraqi soldiers and policemen either refused to fight or simply abandoned their posts during the inconclusive assault against Shiite militias in Basra last week, a senior Iraqi government official said Thursday. Iraqi military officials said the group included dozens of officers, including at least two senior field commanders in the battle.
The desertions in the heat of a major battle cast fresh doubt on the effectiveness of the American-trained Iraqi security forces. The White House has conditioned further withdrawals of American troops on the readiness of the Iraqi military and police.
Here’s a question — if they’re not willing to fight for themselves, why should we fight for them ?
April 4th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Because we can’t “surrender”, we need to continue until “victory”.
Yah, sounds like a really sound basis for a war to me, too…