August
8, 2008: While Britain is planning to sharply cut its troop levels
in Iraq, it is negotiating with the Iraqi government to maintain a
long term force for training and advising on military and security
matters. The current force of 4,000 troops will soon be reduced to
about a thousand, and will mostly be trainers. Iraqi officers and
NCOs are in particular need of training, both for purely military
matters, as well as for counter-terror efforts.
The
original Iraqi army of the 1930s was trained and equipped by Britain.
But after the military coup in the 1950s (that all but exterminated
the royal family), the military turned to the Soviet Union for
training and equipment. That's didn't work out too well, and now the
Iraqis are interested in catching on what they've missed.
