Aspects of disintegration: the reality of the new Iraqi military, its forces and institutions and prospects for reform

Abstract

This paper provides a detailed, insider assessment of the new Iraqi security and military forces as organized under current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. It analyzes the recruitment, training and fielding of Iraqi police and regular armed forces with special attention to the volatile sectarian and ethnic allegiances – exacerbated through direct recruitment from partisan militias including the Kurdish Peshmerga, the Badr Corps and Ṣadrist groups – that obviate against a stable and reliable hierarchical chain of command. It contains a complete analysis of all current Iraqi Army divisions, their composition, leadership and deployment as well as recommendations for how all branches of the Iraqi armed forces may be restored to levels and readiness characteristic of effective national defense and security forces.