The US tried this in Vietnam - specifically - sending anyone anywhere in
the country and not relying on people that 'knew' specific regional areas.
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Iraqi troops refuse US training
An Iraqi national guard unit has been disbanded after it refused to
attend a military training academy overseen by US advisers, former
members of the unit said on Saturday.
The soldiers, part of a 90-strong force that calls itself the Defence
Force of Rutba, said they feared reprisals from locals if they were seen
to have cooperated with the Americans.
Iraqi units have previously fled the front line when ordered to fight
insurgents, but it is believed to be the first case of soldiers refusing
to attend training for fear of reprisals.
"We refused to go because we were afraid that when we came back to Rutba
we would be killed," Taha Allawi, a former member of the unit, told Reuters.
Rutba is in the far west of Iraq, close to the border with Jordan.
"The people here would believe that we were cooperating with US forces
and that is a reason for anyone to be killed."
A US military official who oversees training said Iraqis who refused to
attend courses could be dismissed, but said the decision rested with
Iraq's Ministry of Defence.
He said the unit in question was believed to be a former Iraqi National
Guard unit that was due to be integrated into the Iraqi army. Its
members had refused to attend the Kirkush camp where Iraqi officers run
courses overseen by US advisers.
"While coalition forces may have delivered the news, those decisions are
made by the Ministry of Defence," said Lieutenant-Colonel Fred Wellman.
"The United States does not disband units or dismiss soldiers."
Iraq's Defence Ministry had no immediate comment.
Another former soldier in the force, Ahmed Dhahi, said the disagreement
began two months ago when he said the US military first raised the idea
of them attending a training course.
"They told us we had no right to refuse, they said the duty of soldiers
was to obey orders, but we said 'We are Iraqis, not Americans, we don't
follow orders from Americans'," he said.
"We did not want the locals to think that we were working with the
Americans and then threaten us."
Mr Dhahi said that once it became clear that the unit would not attend,
the US military took away their weapons, uniforms and identification
tags and dismissed the force.
Rutba, on the main highway heading to Jordan, is a predominantly Sunni
Arab town with strong tribal allegiances. It has been the scene of
occasional violence over the past two years, including attacks on
military convoys.
A member of Rutba's local council said the soldiers, who had been
receiving a salary of around $300 a month, were right to refuse to
attend the course.
"The soldiers have all the right if they refuse to go because we
understand the reason why they have taken this position," said Hamid
Saleh al-Kubaisi.
"We have tried many times over the past two months to get the Americans
to change their order, but they have insisted that they must go. The
council has no effect on anything because the Americans don't listen."
Lt-Col Wellman said the issue was more focused on the soldiers'
unwillingness to be integrated into the proper Iraqi army and
potentially be deployed to other parts of the country other than Rutba
and the Anbar province surrounding it.
-Reuters
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