The average schmoe (like me) has figured out that they’re never going to “stand up”, so when will congress figure it out?

By By Renee Schoof | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — After spending $19 billion to train and equip 346,500 Iraqi security forces, the Pentagon doesn’t know how many of them are on the job or whether their weapons have been stolen or turned against American forces, according to a bipartisan congressional report that was released Wednesday.

It found that Iraqi security forces aren’t ready to take full responsibility for their country’s security and the central government of Iraq isn’t capable of funding and guiding them. It demands that the Pentagon do a better job of accounting for the Iraqis it’s trained and equipped.

“What we have found has been a lot of disappointment,” said Rep. Martin Meehan, D-Mass. The Iraqi forces are “nowhere near ready to operate independently.”

The report’s findings are likely to contribute to the debate on Iraq policy because they go to the heart of the issue of how the United States eventually can leave behind a country that’s capable of providing its own stability.

President Bush said in March 2006 that as Iraqi forces stand up, “we-ll stand down.” But as the number of Iraqis trained and equipped has increased, the violence hasn’t diminished and U.S. forces haven-t been redeployed.

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