Special to WorldTribune.com

WASHINGTON — The United States has proposed a restructuring of the Iraqi military.

Officials said the administration of President Barack Obama drafted a plan to form an Iraqi military limited to border operations. The officials said the military would reflect the cantonization of Iraq into Sunni, Shi’ite and Kurdish enclaves.

“In our view, a functioning federalism would empower local populations to secure their own areas with the full resources of the state in terms of benefits, salaries, and equipment,” Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Brett McGurk said. “The national army, under this concept, would focus on securing international borders and providing over-watch support where necessary to combat hardened terrorist networks.”

In testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on July 23, McGurk said the proposal for a revised military also reflected Baghdad’s plans. He said the government of Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki approved a three-phase plan to rebuild the Iraq Army, five divisions of which collapsed during the advance of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in June 2014.

“First, the Iraqis have begun to recall soldiers from dissolved units for retraining at two sites north of Baghdad,” McGurk said. “They report that nearly 10,000 have answered this call.”

Officials said the restructuring of the Iraqi military has been supported by the U.S. Defense Department. They said the plan called for an elite counter-insurgency forces that reflected the ethnic composition of Iraq.

“They are looking to dramatically restructure their security services, with units recruited locally to secure local areas, while the national army provides overwatch support,” McGurk said.

McGurk said the restructuring program could take years. He said the security forces would be paid through a federal system in which Kurds, Shi’ites and Sunnis would be responsible for local security.

“Such a program may take many months to demonstrate results, and years to provide a lasting foundation for sustainable security,” McGurk said.

  Brett McGurk, ISIL, Nouri Al Maliki, U.S. plan to rebuild Iraq’s Army assumes division of nation into enclaves