U.S. visit highlights obstacles to an Iraqi offensive on Mosul
At this bleak and dusty military outpost south of Baghdad, soldiers from Iraq’s 9th Armored Division say they are ready to fight the Islamic State. Just give them the right weapons. Maj. Mohamed Abdul Kareem al-Kadhim, one of about 1,200 Iraqi soldiers undergoing training here, said he and his fellow troops have already received M16 rifles. But […]Missy Ryan writes for The Washington Post:
At this bleak and dusty military outpost south of Baghdad, soldiers from Iraq’s 9th Armored Division say they are ready to fight the Islamic State. Just give them the right weapons.
Maj. Mohamed Abdul Kareem al-Kadhim, one of about 1,200 Iraqi soldiers undergoing training here, said he and his fellow troops have already received M16 rifles. But they are waiting for the government to provide heavy rounds needed for exercises on their T-72 Soviet-era tanks. Until then, he said, they will improvise the best they can.
Some of the 9th Division troops receiving instruction from Spanish, Portuguese, British and American trainers at Besmaya are seasoned soldiers who have fought against Islamic State militants in Ramadi and elsewhere. But many from Kadhim’s unit, recruits both young and old, have only a few weeks in uniform after being pulled from civilian work to reinforce the battle against the well-armed extremist group.
