ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — U.S. commanders in Iraq are planning major changes in how they train Iraqi military forces as part of a continuing but often frustrating effort to prepare Iraqis to defend the country against a deadly insurgency.
The latest attempt to overhaul the U.S. approach will incorporate lessons of military training successes in Afghanistan -- where American advisors remain with Afghan units for two years -- and will address what commanders describe as the scarcity of mid-level Iraqi leadership.
The overhaul, described by top commanders in interviews as a sea change in methods, would enable U.S. military strategists to assign an expanded cadre of American advisors to work closely with Iraqi units after they receive basic training. U.S. advisors traveling with Iraqi battalions would have access to American intelligence and could call in U.S. planes, bombs and quick-reaction forces, a senior defense official said recently in Iraq, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Under one proposal being considered, Americans would lead Iraqi military units, which U.S. commanders say suffer from a "leadership gap." The changes would primarily affect the military services, which account for 43% of a security force that also includes police and that commanders describe as "broken."
"There are certainly lessons that we can take from Afghanistan and apply to Iraq," Army Gen. John P. Abizaid said in a recent interview in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital. Abizaid, who heads the U.S. Central Command, directs the American military in Afghanistan and Iraq.
A close relationship between American and local troops, he said, "was the key to success in Afghanistan, and it will be a key to success in Iraq.... It will also give them the opportunity to bring in U.S. firepower as a backup when they need it."
The changes are being planned as part of the Bush administration's strategy to turn over security functions to Iraqi forces so the U.S. military can leave Iraq. Shortcomings of past training efforts in Iraq were at center stage during a sharp debate this week on Capitol Hill, where senators questioned Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice about progress and timetables.
Rice repeatedly cited Pentagon data that said more than 120,000 Iraqis had been trained. She drew criticism from senators who noted that the number included more than 50,000 police officers who were given as little as three weeks of basic training and were considered unprepared to take over security from American troops.
