According to a just-released report by the House Armed Services Committee’s oversight and investigations panel the more than $19 billion spent over the past four years to train and equip Iraq police and military personnel has produced “mixed results” and forces that “are not yet ready to take full responsibility for their nation’s security.” Moreover, the panel declares that after three months studying the effort, its members “cannot assess the operational capability of these forces” and put the blame squarely on DOD, which it said was “unwilling or unable to provide Congress with meaningful information.” In short, the panel reports, “We are actually left with more questions than answers.”
Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach said the service must improve its readiness in his first public remarks as Air Force Chief of Staff, made during a ceremony marking his ascension to the service’s top job Nov. 18.
