US advisers in Iraq risk assassination by troops they are trying to train, claims classified report

Many units are deeply infiltrated by Sunni informants or Shiite personnel

The threat are the extremists backed by Iran, according to US officials

Up to 300 special operations forces to deployed in the country



US advisers in Iraq risk assassination by troops they are trying to train, according to a classified report.

Americans who are assigned to advise Baghdad’s forces could be at risk because so many units are deeply infiltrated by either Sunni extremist informants or Shiite personnel backed by Iran, the report by United States detailed.



If the US does decide to assist in moving back the the advances made by Sunni militants in northern and western Iraq over the past month, the assessment concludes that only about half of Iraq’s operational units are able to carry out the push.



Shi'ite volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi army to fight against militants. US advisers in Iraq risk assassination by troops they are trying to train, according to a classified report

The report says Iraqi troops are dependent on Shiite militias - US troops battled agasint Shiite militia after it invaded Iraq and this could also be a danger, reports The New York Times.



Last month the U.S. and Iraq on reached a key agreement on legal protections that will enable up to 300 special operations forces to deploy in the country.

'They will be very good at improving the immediate tactical proficiency of some of the Iraqi military, but they will be less prepared to address the long-term health of the Iraqi army,' said retired Lt. Gen. James Dubik, who was in charge of training Iraqi forces in 2007 and 2008.



With the army's northern divisions hard hit by desertions as key Sunni cities fell in June, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led government has leaned heavily on Shi'ite militias and volunteers motivated by a sense of religious duty

In essence, he said, the U.S. teams will be 'sharpening the tip of the spear, but not replacing the rotted staff with a new one.'



In a string of battlefield victories, the Sunni militants have captured several key towns in the north and on the border with Syria, sending Iraqi troops fleeing.

Abandoned by military leaders who may have felt alienated by the Shiite-led government, troops ran, leaving their weapons and equipment.



'It's a rapidly deteriorating situation,' said Rick Nelson, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies/

'It's a hot war. They have to get in and help stop the bleeding to get the Iraqi forces to be able to maintain stability and security in the country.'



Brig. Gen. Darsie Rogers, head of Army Special Forces Command, said Green Berets currently are conducting training missions in 30 countries and do so in more than 150 nations each year.



Highly trained in special warfare and counterinsurgency, the teams routinely are used to help other countries build and improve their militaries.

Rebel fighters from the Islamic Front, Syria's largest rebel coalition, hold a position during clashes with militants of the Islamic State (IS), formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), for the control a village on the outskirts of Aleppo

The latest Iraq mission, Rogers said, is more akin to what special forces have been doing in Afghanistan and the Philippines and what they did in Iraq during the war years. But it's a bit larger than similar missions going on around the world, including a number of countries in Africa.



Rogers, who served in Iraq, said the assessment phase will be important in determining how to go forward but, 'having some experience with that, I think that we will rather quickly understand where we need to apply our assistance.'



The teams will determine how the U.S. can best help the Iraqi forces, then the additional teams will deploy. They are expected to help the Iraqis improve their military systems and commands, but not embed with the fighting units or engage in direct combat.



Iraqis stand over the debris of a house after an air raid by Iraqi Air forces in Fallujah city

Rogers also noted that a number of U.S. special forces have served in Iraq.



'The relationships that we have with the Iraqis, at least those that I had while I was there, were very strong, and I'm sure that we'll be able to capitalize on this as we go back in,' Rogers said.



Still, Dubik said that while the commandos will provide important short-term help for the Iraq forces, they will not be sufficient to solve the problem.



Instead, he said Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki needs to make several critical political moves, including disbanding the office of the commander in chief, which has been blamed for roiling sectarian divisions and pushing a Shiite agenda.



U.S. officials are also pressing for a government transition that will better empower the minorities and bring the country together, thus conceivably avoiding a civil war.



The legal agreement was needed to get the special forces into Iraq.



Iraq Shiite fighters with the 'Peace Brigades' patrol during a sand storm on the outskirts of Samarra

Iraq Shiite fighters patrol on the outskirts of Samarra, 60 miles (95 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq. Fighters of the voluntary armed group formed after the radical Shiite cleric Muqtatda al-Sadr called to protect holy shrines against possible attacks by Sunni militants

Islamic extremists have destroyed at least 10 ancient shrines and Shiite mosques in territory - the city of Mosul and the town of Tal Afar - they have seized in northern Iraq in recent weeks

The Pentagon spokesman, Rear Adm. John Kirby, said Iraq had outlined acceptable legal assurances for the short-term mission in a diplomatic note ensuring that troops will not be subject to Iraq's judicial process. Instead, if there are any problems, troops would be subject to the U.S. Uniform Code of Military Justice.



The legal protections are similar to those provided to U.S. diplomats and troops working out of the embassy, officials said,



White House spokesman Josh Earnest drew a distinction between the current situation and the administration's desire to have the Iraqi parliament approve immunity for American troops when the U.S. was looking to leave a residual force behind in 2011.



Iraq refused to sign that agreement and the U.S. pulled all but a small number of forces out of the country in December 2011. Fewer than 200 troops, largely providing security, have remained at the U.S. Embassy as part of the Office of Security Cooperation.



'We're dealing with an emergency situation — that's the first part — and there is an urgent need for these advisers to be able to do their work on the ground in Iraq,' Earnest said, adding that they are going in at the request of the Iraq government.

