US officers cite flaws in Iraq train -Post

WASHINGTON, Nov 21 (Reuters) US officers charged with training Iraqi forces report widespread problems with the programme, ranging from poor preparation to not having enough interpreters, The Washington Post reported today.

The Post said officers who had been involved in training and advising Iraqis bluntly criticised almost every aspect of the effort in official interviews compiled by the Army for its oral history archives.

The newspaper said some officers complained that they did not understand their tasks and that the soldiers who prepared them had never served in Iraq and did not understand training and advising.

Others cited a lack of support from the Army, intermittent shipments of supplies and interpreters who did not seem to understand English, the newspaper said.

Iraqi officers interviewed also had complaints -- the top one was that they were being advised by officers far junior to them who had never seen combat, the Post report said.

The newspaper said the interviews conducted by the Army's Combat Studies Institute at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, cover a span from shortly after the 2003 invasion until earlier this year.

A Pentagon spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

The training programme, which has been central to the US strategy in Iraq, could become even more important as the Pentagon considers its options there, the paper said.

The Post said a military review being done for the Joint Chiefs of Staff was leaning toward temporarily boosting the US troop level in Iraq but would eventually cut the combat presence in favor of training and advising.

The training effort could take five to 10 years, the newspaper said.

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