Restructuring army may take three years: Iraqi PM
January 12, 2015
"The most difficult thing is to restructure and rebuild the army while you are in a state of war," al-Abadi told the Reuters news agency, referring to Baghdad's ongoing efforts to control "Islamic State" (IS) militants.
"Our aim is to create a balance between both restructuring the army in a way that will not impact the fighting," al-Abadi said. The restructuring could last three years, but this did not mean that the fight against IS would also last that long, he added.
The ability of Iraq's troops to control and retake territory from the IS depends on the steps Baghdad takes to restructure the army. Al-Abadi spoke of the need to fight corruption in military and civil institutions, because this would affect the efficiency of troops.
International support 'slow'
Speaking to reporters in Cairo, al-Abadi also criticized the US-led international coalition, calling it "very slow in its support and training of the army." Although the support was getting faster, al-Abadi said that there needed to be "further acceleration" in assistance provided to his forces.
The prime minister also met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi on Sunday to discuss proposals for a peaceful resolution to the Syrian conflict. Al-Abadi said the proposals' objective would be to prevent the emergence of "new terrorist groups" in areas which had been seized back from IS militants, who have taken control of vast swathes of northern Iraq and Syria.
According to US officials, the Iraqi government is being trained to launch a major offensive against the jihadists later in 2015. In the meantime, US-led coalition forces are using air raids to cut IS supply lines.
mg/cmk (AFP, Reuters)