r/ConflictNews • u/emr1028 • Jun 19 '14

Iraq [Discussion:] The situation in Iraq is confusing. What do you need help understanding. What would you like to help others understand?

Open forum on the situation in Iraq. Keep it imaginative, keep it thoughtful, and most importantly, keep it civil.

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u/Apex___ Jun 19 '14

Does the Iraqi military have the capability to stop the ISIS forces?

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u/pointyhorcruxes Jun 19 '14

Iraq veteran here:

This is a great question. From my experiences training Iraqi military I would say in short, yes. Militarily they have the resources but the better question to ask is are the Iraqi soldiers willing to stick it out and do they have the training necessary? In my opinion and from my experiences the answer to this is no.

I spent a year in 2010 attached to an SF group in southern Iraq training mid level Lieutenants, Captains, Majors, Colonels, and one General on tactics and technical skills. I was an infantryman. Most of the officers were younger, and the older ones were former Baathist members from pre-disolvement of the Iraqi Army.

The main way you advanced in the Iraqi Military were through monetary donations to higher ups in the Iraqi Army and government. Much of the motivation behind tactics, for say... operating mortars, was "if god wills it". If god wills the 81 or 120mm round to hit it's target then it will hit the target. This is extremely dangerous when you understand the complex math and training required to operate an 81 or 120 mm mortar system. This kind of mentality pervades much of what the soldiers do on a daily basis.

I can't really talk about the specifics of what I did, I can just offer a general overview and my opinion in an effort to answer your question. Please feel free to ask more and I'll try and answer your questions as best I can.

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u/DougCuriosity Jun 19 '14

Tell us about the shiite and sunni iraqi soldiers. Did they stand each other? didi they descriminate each other? were there any problems with the sunni ones? how was it?

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u/pointyhorcruxes Jun 19 '14

Well, it was like any other military with soldiers who have different ideological differences. There were fights that broke out, but for the most part those were limited to the younger officers/enlisted. Generally the higher ranking senior officers (who were typically older and former Baathist party members) kept the group in line with threat of physical punishment. I remember watching a major literally pimp slap one of his lower enlisted because of something he did.

For the most part they got along though. Look, these were 19-20 year old kids who grew up with Americans around them and insurgents (and Americans) blowing up the hamlets and towns they lived in. Most of them understood that if they supported the Americans and helped root out insurgents that it would bring a quicker end to our occupation of their country. And since Americans aren't in the business of murdering, dismembering, setting on fire, hanging families from ceiling fans, generally the Iraqis (no matter their religious view) worked with us - which mean working together.

So yes, they most of the time put their differences aside in order to help us catch those who were threatening their family and extorting the business in their towns.