Washington - Iraqi forces are not ready to handle security and the country's Interior Ministry is plagued by sectarianism and corruption, according to the Washington Post, which obtained a copy of a new report to be released Thursday. The congressionally appointed commission consisting of retired military officers designed to study the state of Iraqi security forces concluded the country will not be capable of providing its own security in the next 12-18 months without the assistance of the US military.
The commission, headed by retired Marine General James Jones, said the Iraqi Interior Minister is "dysfunctional and sectarian" and that Iraqi forces' logistical self-sufficiency is at least two years away.
The report is the second of three this month to be released assessing the situation in Iraq since US President George W Bush ordered a US troop surge earlier this year.
The White House is due to release by September 15 an assessment from the US ambassador in Baghdad, Ryan Crocker, and General David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, on the political and military situation in the country.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report on Tuesday saying that the Iraqi government has failed to meet 15 of 18 benchmarks set by Congress to determine how much progress the Iraqi government has made in tackling key challenges.
The report by the GAO, Congress' investigative arm, contradicted a White House assessment in July that said the Iraqi government had achieved eight of the goals.
