Iraqi force development faced the challenge of an insurgency that continued to show it could
strike at the sectarian and ethnic fault lines in Iraq, and could exploit the lack of an effective Iraqi
government and leadership to push the country towards civil war. At the same time, sectarian
and ethnic militias and security forces became a steadily more serious problem, rivaling the
insurgency as a threat to Iraq security.
During these developments, the Iraqi regular military forces under the Ministry of Defense
(MOI) steadily expanded in size and capability, and expanded their military role. They remained largely unified and “national” in character. The lack of an Iraqi government did, however, allow a continuing drift in setting clear Iraqi force goals, and in creating plans that would both create forces that could sustain themselves in combat and eventually acquire enough major weapons and combat equipment to deter foreign threats and defend the country.
The situation was far more difficult in the case of the forces under the Ministry of Interior, including the special security units and police. Some elements of these forces became tied to Shi’ite militias, attacks on Sunnis, and other abuses. This forced the reorganization of all of the forces under the MOI, and it is still unclear how successful this reorganization will be.
The MNF-I and Iraqi government seem to be committed to giving Iraq effective internal and security police forces that will serve the nation, not given sects and ethnic groups. There has been no in-depth reporting about progress in this effort, and it faces major challenges in the form of militias and police and other security forces that are effectively under the control of regional or local leaders, most with ties to given sects and factions...
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