Building up the Iraqi Forces

Yesterday MNSTC-I ("min-sticky") announced that the Iraqi Forces had crossed a milestone. Iraqi security forces are now 200,000 strong. From a press release here:

Currently the Iraqi Ministry of Interior has 106,112 personnel serving as part of security forces. The Ministry of Defense has 93,959 service members in the military.

Reaching this landmark is especially significant given that Iraq’s military and police forces will be taking the lead in providing security for the Oct. 15 referendum, officials said. There are now more than 60,000 additional Iraqi security forces available than there were for the highly-successful January election held earlier this year.

(Security Watchtower has a nice graph of the progress.)

In the current issue of This Week In Iraq (Oct 12 issue, in PDF), there is more information on the progress of the Iraqi forces.

On page 2, General Casey, Commanding General MNF - Iraq, says this:

Every measure possible is being taken by the Iraqi government and the Multi-National Force - Iraq to ensure a safe referendum. As of this week there are 200,000 Iraqi Security Force (ISF) and 115 ISF combat battalions in the fight across Iraq. This translates into a 50 percent increase in the ISF available for security compared to last January’s election. As a matter of fact, the 6th Iraqi Army recently assumed battle space and the lead for tactical operations in Baghdad.

Page 3 has more information on the 6th Iraqi Army.

The Iraqi Army reached another historic milestone when the 6th Iraqi Army Division took over authority of the Kharkh, Rusafa, Thawra and Adhamiyah districts of Baghdad from Task Force Baghdad during a ceremony at the Muthana Airfield Oct. 3.

Iraqi Forces are taking responsibility for more and more areas. From page 7:

Coalition Forces in Iraq are turning over forward operating bases (FOBs) across the country to Iraqi authorities, empowering the people to fight terrorism and help the Iraqi security forces to become self-sustaining. So far 27 bases have successfully been turned over. Fifteen of those bases are under ISF control, and 12 are under the control of the Ministries of the Interior or Finance and private land owners.
...
Before the Coalition forces turn over a FOB three key factors are taken into consideration, said Maj. Michael Davidson, plans officer, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C. These factors are ISF’s ability to hold battle space, the overall stability of the area and the funding approved for base consolidation in support of the MNF-I campaign plan. Once those factors are cleared there is a 100-day process that takes place.

Click the thumbnail to see the forward operating bases turned over to Iraqi forces. (Also from page 7.)



You'll see very few have been turned over in the troubled Sunni areas west of Baghdad. The bulk of the bases are in Kurdish areas in the north, or Shia areas in the south, areas that are relatively quiet. It is a good sign that a number of areas of Baghdad are being given over to Iraqi control.

There is, of course, still work to be done. As this Washington Post article details, 30 people were killed by a suicide bomber in Tal Afar on Wednesday.

Tal Afar was the scene of a recent operation where for the first time in a major operation Iraqi forces outnumbered US forces. This suicide bombing is likely an attempt by the terrorists to send a message, that they can still operate even in areas that were the target of security operations.

Still, there is reason for hope in Iraq.

The Constitutional Referendum is this Saturday, and with the deal agreed to by the Sunnis, there is hope the Constitution will pass, and the terrorists will be marginalized even further.

These are hard days for our military, as they continue to conduct operations this week to disrupt the terrorists and prevent the terrorists from creating havoc ahead of the referendum. Since October 3, the Pentagon has released notices of 30 US fatalities in Iraq. (With at least 4 in Afghanistan.)

Recent operations involving Iraqi forces - Oct 5
Progress in Iraq - Oct 2
Additional information on the death of Azzam - Sept 30
Another one bites the dust - Sept 27
Update on Iraqi Armed Forces - Sept 22
Success in Iraq - Sept 20

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Bill Roggio also looks at the current state of the Iraqi forces.
Bill Roggio breaks down the This Week in Iraq report as well.
Captain Ed has another example of how the MSM spins good news like this.