FREDO'S SURGE WON'T WORK

The Surge requires that the Iraqi security forces step up and become effective. This isn't happening.

US Chiefs: Iraq Not Ready to Hold Ground
Jun 26, 5:40 PM (ET)
By ROBERT H. REID


BAGHDAD (AP) - American military commanders now seriously doubt that Iraqi security forces will be able to hold the ground that U.S. troops are fighting to clear - gloomy predictions that strike at the heart of Washington's key strategy to turn the tide in Iraq.

Several senior American officers have warned in recent days that Iraqi soldiers and police are still incapable of maintaining security on their own in the most crucial areas, including Baghdad and the recently reclaimed districts around Baqouba to the north.

"The challenge now is: How do you hold onto the terrain you've cleared?" said Brig. Gen. Mick Bednarek, the operations chief of the current offensive in Baqouba, where Sunni insurgents have taken root in recent months. He said this week that U.S. forces have control of much of Baqouba. "You have to do that shoulder-to-shoulder with Iraqi security forces. And they're not quite up to the job yet," Bednarek said.

"A lesson learned is ... do not draw down too quickly when we think there's a glimmer of success," Brig. Gen. Dana Pittard, a former battalion commander in Diyala, told reporters this week. Pittard, who heads the day-to-day effort to train Iraqi security forces, estimated that it will take "a couple of years" before the Iraqis are ready to take full control of their own security.