U.S. Spent $20bn on Iraqi Security Forces Who Couldn’t Defend Mosul
Tuesday, June 10, 2014 at 01:31PM During the reconstruction of Iraq, the United States spent around $20.2 billion on train and equip Iraqi security forces, about a third of the total funds spent on reconstruction.Today, those same security forces lost control of Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul.
This might seem an unfair connection to make – the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the militant group that carried out the assault on Mosul, is very large and well-equipped – but anecdotally, it seems as if Iraqi forces were overwhelmed and unprepared. After ISIS fighters overran the western bank city overnight, most of the Iraqi soldiers and police stationed there apparently fled (my emphasis):
Two army officers said security forces had received orders to leave Mosul after militants captured the Ghizlani army base and set more than 200 inmates free from a high-security prison.
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