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Iraq Army's Ability to Fight Raises Worries
(Wall Street Journal) Matt Bradley and Julian E. Barnes - The Iraq army's quick collapse against Sunni insurgents in Mosul this month surprised the U.S. military, which spent about $25 billion to train and supply the army over nearly a decade of occupation until 2011. But it didn't surprise Mosul's residents, who say they witnessed the Iraqi army's decay through corruption, sectarianism and incompetence. The ISIS insurgents "are not strong, but the military is very weak," said Atheel al-Nujaifi, the governor of Nineveh province who fled its capital Mosul. "There was no responsible leadership, there was no planning, there was no correct utilization for the military tools....The leaders and the soldiers have no military experience and have no convictions."