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1 1 (March 25, 2005)

handle is hein.crs/crsmthaaauf0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS22093 March 25, 2005 CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web Iraq's New Security Forces: The Challenge of Sectarian and Ethnic Influences Jeremy M. Sharp Middle East Policy Analyst Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Summary This report analyzes the prospects for rebuilding an inclusive Iraqi security force that transcends Iraq's various ethnic and sectarian communities. U.S. policymakers and Iraqi officials aim to create a unified Iraqi security force; however, the predominately Sunni Arab insurgency has hampered this effort, and many believe that the new Iraqi security agencies will ultimately be composed of mostly Shiite and Kurdish recruits with the Kurds also separately maintaining their own militias. As Iraqi officials attempt to build a pluralistic political system in the aftermath of successful parliamentary elections, an important challenge will be rebuilding an inclusive Iraqi security force that does not exacerbate relations between Iraq's ethnic/religious communities and increase the likelihood of civil war. Through past supplemental appropriations, Congress has funded the training and equipping of the new Iraqi security forces. The FY2005 supplemental spending request seeks $5.7 billion to train the Iraqi security forces. For more information on Iraq, see CRS Report RL31339, Iraq: U.S. Regime Change Efforts and Post-Saddam Governance and CRS Report RL31833, Iraq: Recent Developments in Reconstruction Assistance. This report will be updated regularly. Introduction The Bush Administration has deemed the rapid creation of an effective Iraqi fighting force as key to stabilizing Iraq and expediting the eventual withdrawal of U.S. forces. The FY2005 supplemental spending request seeks $5.7 billion to train the Iraqi security forces. The rationale for this effort is that a well-trained, well-equipped Iraqi army can be effective in quelling the insurgency and can help smooth the process of restoring full sovereignty to a new Iraqi government. U.S. policymakers envision the new Iraqi security forces to be representative of Iraqi society at large. A goal is for the new Iraqi army to transcend Iraq's religious and ethnic boundaries and keep the country unified while fighting an insurgency. However, there is concern that the ethnic-sectarian nature of the burgeoning insurgency is undermining U.S. and Iraqi efforts to create a unified Iraqi security force Congressional Research Service + The Library of Congress

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