A 20-member commission composed of former senior military and police officers is recommending the U.S. significantly reduce the number of U.S. troops by early next year, and let Iraqi forces take over more daily combat missions -- essentially what leading Democrats have been saying. Even though we've poured $19.2 billion on developing Iraq's military and police forces, the commission reports that those forces would be unable to take control of their country in the next 18 months. Worse, they describe the police force as fragile, ill-equipped, and infiltrated by militia forces, and recommended scrapping the national police force and starting over. Quite a bargain, that $19.2 billion investment!
What one hopes is that this, along with the recent GAO report, will be another basis for a consensus in Congress for drawing down troops sooner rather than later. It's long past time to stop being enablers of Iraqi factionalism and dithering.
