Iraqi officers complain to their U.S. advisors that they must pay up to $5,000 in bribes to Iraqi defense officials to secure a spot at the officer training academy and up to $30,000 to be named a general. Many raise cash by siphoning funds that should be spent on food, fuel and other supplies.
The army's deficiencies were brought into sharp relief when Maliki launched the first of a string of crackdowns in the spring, provoking a fierce backlash from militiamen loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr in the southern oil hub of Basra and parts of Baghdad.
About 3,000 members of locally recruited army and police units in Basra dropped their weapons, shed their uniforms and fled, U.S. officers said. The militia uprising was curbed only with the help of U.S.-led firepower and Iraqi units sent from outside the province.
Maliki's subsequent operations have appeared more carefully planned. His commanders say they are willing to take U.S. advice, but do not want Americans telling them what to do.
The Iraqi Ground Forces Command did not share details of its plans in Diyala until July 29, the day the command launched a province-wide operation.
At a meeting that afternoon, command chief Lt. Gen. Ali Gaidan Majid ran through his battle plan as an aide with a laser pointer identified troop positions on a giant, three-dimensional map built on the floor of a U.S. gymnasium. The Americans were impressed.
"The fact that the Iraqis briefed their plan right at the beginning and basically took charge of the meeting shows how far they have come," said Lt. Col. Douglas Sims of the U.S. Army's 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, which is also conducting operations in Diyala.
Leading the government charge in Diyala is the 1st Iraqi Army Division, the first division formed by U.S. forces after disbanding Saddam Hussein's army in 2003.
Its soldiers have fought in some of the toughest battles of the last five years in Fallouja, Ramadi and Mosul. And it has recruited members across the country, making the division one of the army's most ethnically and religiously diverse.
The division's American advisors say the Iraqis use their ties with local communities to gather intelligence. They plan and execute operations and can deploy at a moment's notice, with minimal U.S. support.
The main thing the Iraqis lack is air and artillery support. They haven't needed much of that in Diyala, but their experience in Basra showed how critical it can be.
