The Iraqi Army

The Fifth Division shows the extraordinary difficulty of constructing an allegedly national army in the middle of a sectarian civil war. They are actually being trained by the U.S. and proceed to fight Sunnis. And, according to this article, they stand

accused of arresting hundreds of Sunni men on little or no evidence, threatening to rape a suspect's wife to coerce a confession, and intimidating its commander's critics, according to interviews with Iraqi and U.S. officials.

Currently, the U.S. military is in control and doing what it can to monitor and restrain sectarian abuses. But what happens when command is transferred? Money quote:

"I understand there were operations done previously by General Shakir, before I got here," that angered the Sunni population, Sutherland said. He added that U.S. forces have helped the general introduce better training for 5th Division troops, conduct intelligence-driven operations and start a recruiting program to enlist more Sunni troops.

The 5th Division "is not necessarily representative of the population of Baquba, but it is something General Shakir is working on," Sutherland said. Diyala's police and military were in such disarray earlier this year that the previous U.S. command delayed plans to transfer full control to the Iraqi military in October. The new handover date is just months away.

"Right now, the Iraqi Army is expected to transfer to Iraqi ground force command in early February," Sutherland said. "There's nothing I've seen to indicate that won't happen."