Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The United States has deployed commandos to assess the Iraqi military and its ability to combat Al Qaida.

Officials said the administration of President Barack Obama would send up to 400 special operations troops to Iraq. They said the soldiers, the first of whom arrived on June 24, would review the capabilities and requirements of the Iraqi military amid the offensive by Al Qaida’s Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

“Just like in any unfolding situation, even a disaster-relief operation,
one of the first things you do is to deploy assessment teams to [determine]
requirements before you start flowing in support,” Defense Department
spokesman John Kirby said. “That’s what I think these first couple of teams
will do for us.”

In a briefing on June 24, Kirby said 90 U.S. troops arrived in Baghdad
and would join another 40 military personnel already deployed in the U.S.
embassy in Iraq. He said the troops would establish assessment teams as well
as a joint operations center with the Iraqi military.

Officials said the Pentagon was organizing another four assessment teams
that would consist of 50 soldiers. They said the advisers would arrive in
Baghdad by July and rapidly draft recommendations on ways to enhance the
Iraqi military.

“We expect that they’ll start to flow their assessments up through the
chain of command in about two to three weeks,” Kirby said.

Officials said at least five of the Iraq Army’s 14 divisions collapsed
since the ISIL campaign on June 9. But they said other divisions were unable
to muster sufficient combat troops for battle in northern Iraq.

“They [ISIL] continue to press into central and southern Iraq,” Kirby
said. “And they are still a legitimate threat to Baghdad.”

As a result, the U.S. military has been providing intelligence,
reconnaissance and surveillance support to the Shi’ite led government in
Baghdad. Officials said this included up to 36 daily flights by fighter-jets
and unmanned aerial vehicles.

“We now are flying enough flights, manned and unmanned, that we provide
around-the-clock coverage,” Kirby said. “We’re not looking at the whole
country, [just] parts that are of greatest interest.”

After the initial review, officials said, the U.S. advisers would assess
the feasibility of additional military teams to Iraq. They said the number
of SOF troops planned for Iraq was less than 400, about 100 more than Obama
said on June 19.

At a later stage, Kirby said, U.S. Central Command would contribute
personnel from such countries as Afghanistan, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait
and Yemen. He said the assessment teams could be followed by the additional
personnel.

“The teams will assess and advise,” Kirby said. “They are not being sent
to participate in combat.”

  ISIL, John Kirby, U.S. Central Command, U.S. commandos arrive in Iraq to ‘assess and advise’ Shi’ite government, U.S. Defense Department