WASHINGTON, March 8 (UPI) -- The Democrat in charge of investigations for the House Armed Services Committee says his first probe will be of U.S. efforts to stand-up Iraq security forces.
Rep. Marty Meehan, D-Mass., chairman of the newly minted Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the armed services panel, emphasized "the importance to our mission in Iraq of developing an array of Iraqi Security Forces capable of assuming full responsibility" for stabilizing the country.
"But," he added, "We are far from achieving that goal."
Meehan said the subcommittee "will conduct an in-depth study of the plan for, and progress to date, of the development of the Iraqi Security Forces, through a series of fact-finding briefings, hearings, and interviews."
He added that he was not intending to look backwards: "Our intent is not to focus on past mistakes, although we will to hesitate to call for accountability when warranted. Instead, we will seek to ensure that the Department of Defense has an achievable plan and timeline, so the Congress and the public can openly debate resource and policy issues related to organizing, training, and equipping the Iraqi Security Forces."
