Sadr City - Iraqi Army Proving Ground

The struggle for control of Sadr City is more than a test of wills with renegade Shiite militias. It has also become a testing ground for the Iraqi military, which has been thrust into the lead.

Iraqi soldiers, suffering from a shortage of experienced noncommissioned officers, have often been firing wildly, expending vast quantities of ammunition to try to silence militias that are equipped with AK-47’s, mortars and rockets. But pulling back from their positions earlier, they now appear to be holding their ground — albeit with considerable American support.

Iraqi politics has played a role in shaping the military strategy. Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki has decreed that American ground forces should not push into the heart of Sadr City, according to a senior American officer. American commanders also want to limit the United States’ profile in an area that has long been a bastion of support for Moktada al-Sadr, the anti-American cleric.

But American commanders also see this as an opportunity to shift more responsibility to the Iraqi troops — in this case Iraq’s 11th Army Division, one of the newest divisions in the Iraqi military.

Jerry Pournelle in his books "Go Tell The Spartans" and "Prince of Sparta" would say that the thing now is to not lose our nerve , and it's true. NCO leadership is one of the things that distinguishes British and American Military forces, if we can develop that in the Iraqi army then we are that much further along to being able to withdraw our troops.

I still say one of the things that would help would be to send some Iraqi battalions thru the NTC at Ft. Irwin and possibly through the NCO academies of the Army and Marine Corps. Train the trainers.