Report: Problems in Iraq force training

WASHINGTON, June 28 (UPI) -- A congressional report criticized the training given to Iraqi military and police forces and said they aren't capable of handling security on their own.

The House of Representatives Armed Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee said the Iraqi police and security forces' capabilities are "very uneven," Voice of America reported Thursday.

"We currently have an ISF that is nowhere near ready to operate independently, particularly the police, and what this report lays out is how difficult it has been to reach that goal (of handing security over to local forces)," Rep. Martin Meehan, D-Mass., told VOA.

The bipartisan report faulted the Bush administration and the Pentagon for focusing on "numbers, rather than the quality, capability and sustainability" of Iraqi forces, VOA reported.

The report made several recommendations, including one that the Pentagon send to Congress its plan for transferring responsibility to Iraqi forces.