The Fly Strikes Again
It appears that the government has been paying attention once again to the wealth of knowledge and wisdom demonstrated by the Fly. They have decided to abolish the National Guard; that's not exactly what I suggested in this post, but I think this will probably be a good solution. The article says that the move is likely intended, at least in part, to improve recruitment; it says that the National Guard is seen as ill-disciplined and an easy target for insurgents. There's only one catch: it's not the American government that's doing this, it's the Iraqi government.
Of course, you have to sort through the usual BBC spin; it's no longer an occupation, and both then and now it's not an American presence, it's a coalition presence. Basically, though, what the article says is correct: the Iraqi National Guard is seen as an ill-disciplined group of rookies, and because of that they're being merged into the regular army.
Now, a lot of this has to do with training; it's important, it can't be done overnight, and these units need to build cohesion and confidence before they can be expected to defend a post-Saddam Iraq. To a degree, I think this is more representative of putting a different label on the same product than anything else, but it can't hurt, and association and unity with the existing regular army can't hurt.
Give them a chance, give them the proper motivation, encourage their confidence, give them incentives, and they'll get better with time. Trust me.
Iraq's interim rulers say the National Guard (ING), currently spearheading anti-insurgency activity, is to be dissolved and merged with the army.
The merger was originally planned for much later, after ING defeated the insurgency with the help of US forces.
It will now take place on 6 January, the defence minister said on Wednesday.
No reason was given for the change, but it may be a way to improve recruitment as the ING is seen as ill-disciplined and an easy target for insurgents.
The paramilitary ING, which is responsible for internal security, has more than 40,000 troops, according to figures given to the United Nations by US forces occupying Iraq.
The regular army is thought to number barely one tenth of that.
But the ING has lost hundreds of personnel in daily attacks by forces opposed to the US military presence in Iraq.
Of course, you have to sort through the usual BBC spin; it's no longer an occupation, and both then and now it's not an American presence, it's a coalition presence. Basically, though, what the article says is correct: the Iraqi National Guard is seen as an ill-disciplined group of rookies, and because of that they're being merged into the regular army.
Now, a lot of this has to do with training; it's important, it can't be done overnight, and these units need to build cohesion and confidence before they can be expected to defend a post-Saddam Iraq. To a degree, I think this is more representative of putting a different label on the same product than anything else, but it can't hurt, and association and unity with the existing regular army can't hurt.
Give them a chance, give them the proper motivation, encourage their confidence, give them incentives, and they'll get better with time. Trust me.
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