Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — Despite the procurement of billions of dollars in weapons, Iraq’s military and security forces continue to be plagued by inefficiency and corruption, a report said.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies asserted that Iraq has failed to overcome its deficiencies since the withdrawal by the United States in 2011.

In a report, the center said the lack of a significant U.S. military presence has hurt Baghdad’s military and counter-insurgency capabilities.

“Two years after the withdrawal of all U.S. military forces from Iraq, the Iraqi military is facing major challenges as it seeks to confront a resurgence of Islamist violence,” the report, titled “Shaping Iraq’s Security Forces,” said. “The failure to maintain any residual U.S. force in the country to train and support Iraqi counter-terrorism operations has placed heavy constraints on the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces and on U.S. policy options for confronting terrorism spilling into Iraq as a result of the deepening crisis in Syria.”

Dated Dec. 16, the report said the Iraq Army, with 13 motorized infantry
divisions, continued to lack intelligence capabilities. Authors Anthony
Cordesman, Daniel Dewit and Sam Khazai also cited political interference in the Iraqi command corps, lack of maintenance as well as corruption.

“The development of the Iraqi security forces has proceeded haltingly,
and as a result Iraqi military and police units are ill-equipped to confront
the non-state threats currently operating inside Iraq,” the report said.

The report said Iraq, which reached out to China and Russia, has failed
to replace its dependence on the United States. The Air Force was said to be
undeveloped and relied on foreign countries for air power and defense.

“Much is still undetermined regarding the future of U.S.-Iraq maritime
security ties,” the report said. “Like its Air Force, Iraq’s Navy remains
underdeveloped and critically deficient compared to its neighbors.”

  Anthony Cordesman, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Daniel Dewit, lack of maintenance, military corruption, Report blames early U.S. pullout for military’s disarray in Iraq, Sam Khazai