They Will Be the Best

This article was inspired by a stray comment that Iraq has the best army in the Arab world. It seeks to set the record straight.

Which is fine. We built a counter-insurgency light infantry force and Iraq is only beginning the transition to a conventional force. If there is widespread opinion that the Iraqi army can already stand on its own to defend their borders, great. But I didn't really think many people believed that.

I guess I have no problem with the article at all, which is good and informative, I happily admit; but the idea that but for this article a great ignorance will endure seems a bit much. I could be wrong, in which case I offer extra kudos to the author for the effort.

I think it is fair to say that the Iraqi army will be the best Arab army when we finish building it. We're building good soldiers who have combat experience and with conventional training and equipment, they'll be a solid--not great--army.

Oh, and a month and a half ago I did my own back of the envelope math on the Iraq-Iran conventional balance to show that Iraq still needs our help to deter an Iranian invasion.