Bush claim on training of Iraqis dispute
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| Mon, 09-27-2004 - 5:51pm |
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002047253_iraqdig27.html
Bush claim on training of Iraqis disputed

People wait for passports outside a government office in Baghdad, Iraq, last week. Many Iraqis want to reserve the option of leaving the country in case the security deteriorates even further.
WASHINGTON — Pentagon documents and Democratic congressional sources dispute President Bush's claim, made Saturday, that nearly 100,000 "fully trained and equipped" Iraqi soldiers, police officers and other security personnel are at work, Reuters said yesterday.
The Pentagon documents show that of the nearly 90,000 people now in the police force, only 8,169 have had the full eight-week academy training. Another 46,176 are listed as "untrained," and it will be July 2006 before the administration reaches its goal of a 135,000-strong, fully trained police force.
Six Army battalions have had "initial training," while 57 National Guard battalions, 896 soldiers in each, are still being recruited or "awaiting equipment." Just eight Guard battalions have reached "initial (operating) capability," according to the documents.
Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee estimated that 22,700 Iraqi personnel have received enough training to make them "minimally effective at their tasks."
"Let me tell you exactly what the story is. They're saying they're trying to train them, yet they have not trained," Sen. Joseph Biden, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said yesterday on CNN.
The White House defended its figures, and a senior administration official defined "fully trained" as having gone through "initial basic operations training."







>"#3) BUSH:
“Had the honor of visiting with Prime Minister Allawi. He's a strong, courageous leader. He believes in the freedom of the Iraqi people. He doesn't want U.S. Leadership, however, to send mixed signals, to not stand with the Iraqi people. He believes, like I believe, that the Iraqis are ready to fight for their own freedom. They just need the help to be trained…. we've got 100,000 trained now.”
FACT: Interim Prime Minister Allawi Proves Bush Is Exaggerating Number of Trained Iraqi Forces. Allawi: “The training of Iraqi security forces is moving forward briskly and effectively. The Iraqi government now commands almost 50,000 armed and combat-ready Iraqis.” "<
Quote from........ http://www.noticias.info/Asp/aspComunicados.asp?nid=34782&src=0
And from the military reports, it sounds like Allawi may be exaggerating slightly as well.
Am I surprised that Bush lied about it?