STEVE INSKEEP, host:
Iraq's minister of defense was in Washington this week, and he did not have much positive to say about his own country's army. He says Iraq's security forces will not be ready to control internal security for four years, and he predicted they would not be able to protect against an external threat until 2018. That assessment matters because U.S. forces would be expected to fill the gaps in the intervening years. So that's what Iraq's defense boss says.
NPR's Anne Garrels spoke with Iraqi forces on the ground.
ANNE GARRELS: General Abdullah Mohamed Komes(ph), the head of logistics for the Iraqi army, was in despair last year. He's a lot more optimistic now.
General ABDULLAH MOHAMED KOMES (Head, Logistics, Iraqi Army): (Through translator) The army is better than last year. It's better than just three months ago. And in the next three months, we'll be better than now.
GARRELS: He's seen dramatic improvements in training, staffing and performance. He says the Shiite-led government is not interfering as it once did, allowing the military greater latitude to put the right people in the right place regardless of ethnic background. But he acknowledges the army still needs a lot more.
Gen. KOMES: (Through translator) We need better weapons, firepower, armored tanks and helicopters.
GARRELS: General Abdullah's shopping list also includes secure radio communications and reconnaissance vehicles. For now, Iraqi forces depend entirely on U.S. drones to survey the battlefield. He also needs fighter jets. The Iraqi air force hasn't flown a fighter since the U.S. invasion, and it's not expected to get any jets for another three years.
U.S. commanders point to the second division in the northern city of Mosul as an example of progress. But Brigadier General Taja(ph), a brigade commander there, is clear about continued problems. His units are under-strength. He needs more good mid-level officers. With the new deBaathification law, he hopes the government will make it easier to rehire former officers with needed skills.
Brigadier General TAJA (Brigade Commander, Iraq): (Through translator) In theory, a lot of employees can take their jobs back, but only if that law is actually applied.
GARRELS: One of his battalion commanders, Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad(ph), says it's hard to train and fight at the same time.
Lieutenant Colonel MOHAMMAD (Battalion Commander, Iraqi Army): The new Iraqi army is a different system. American system, they have now like Internet, computer, all the stuff, radios, you know. We need cause for those officers to do his job good.
GARRELS: A year ago, Iraqi troops patrolling the streets of Mosul were in open, vulnerable trucks. Now, they have armored Humvees. The division was recruited locally and knows the area well. That helps with intelligence. But it makes it easier to pressure or intimidate the troops because their families are here. Colonel Mohammad's house was blown up. He had to move his family out of the city for safety.
Major AMJAD(ph) (Battalion Commander, Iraqi Army): (Speaking in foreign language)
GARRELS: Major Amjad says he's had six relatives killed by extremists trying to scare him off; it didn't work. But because of threats, desertion rates remain high. Amjad's battalion has also taken a lot of casualties - 126 from his battalion of 600 were killed or severely wounded last year.
Maj. AMJAD: (Speaking in foreign language)
GARRELS: When he was injured, Amjad said he had to pay for his own medical care. The military didn't pick up the tab. And he had to find the care too. The new military hospital is incapable of doing the simplest operations. And if the soldier dies, Major Amjad says, there are no death benefits. That was supposed to have changed, but so far Amjad has seen no improvements - hardly the way to get good recruits.
(Soundbite of vehicle)
GARRELS: As he patrols with the Americans, Amjad says he has confidence in his troops, but he doesn't trust other units. Among the many reasons: infiltration.
Maj. AMJAD: (Through translator) There is definitely infiltration. The enemy can get into the army. We know about this.
GARRELS: That impacts how Iraqi units work with each other.
Back at the joint U.S.-Iraqi base, battalion commander, Colonel Mohammad, refuses to put a date on when the Iraqi army will be self-sufficient, but he's certain of one thing.
Col. MOHAMMAD: We need our brother, we need our friends to stay with us until the - make this area safety. Hold the Iraq, hold the countries.
GARRELS: He says the U.S. must stay for the foreseeable future.
Anne Garrels, NPR News, Baghdad.