The military command of the Iraq Army has launched a strategy to rebuild its capabilities with a campaign to recall soldiers and officers who abandoned their units when the Islamic State (ISIS) made its territorial advances across Iraq in June.
According to
The New York Times, army officials report that more than 6,000 soldiers and officers have re-enlisted at one outpost in Kurdistan while 5,000 signed up in Baghdad.
The figures, however, represent a small percentage of the 30,000 troops that collapsed, either in battle or through desertions.
"Even among those Iraqi soldiers who have answered the call to re-enlist, morale is low, and distrust between the rank-and-file and officers runs deep. Most of those interviewed said they were joining primarily because they badly needed the pay, not out of any sense of loyalty or desire to fight," the Times said.
Sectarian divisions and corruption had also been a longstanding problem for the Army even before the ISIS attacks.
"Sunnis are pulling one way, Shiites are pulling the other, and when it breaks, nobody is taking responsibility," Capt. Hemin Kanabi, who has been overseeing the recruitment process in Qush Tapa, told the Times. "There should be a change of some of the commanders. Otherwise, the same failures will occur."
There are also concerns that even some of the stronger Iraqi units need more training and equipment to mount an effective counteroffensive against the militants. Other questions remain about the readiness of other national armed services, and also how a range of separate militias will integrate and coordinate with the Army, according to the Times.
"Of course, nobody knows what's going to happen," Anthony Cordesman, a military expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the Times. "Nobody knows what's going to work."
President Barack Obama admitted on CBS News' "60 Minutes" on Sunday that the United States had not anticipated the rapidness of ISIS's advance through Iraq or the ineffectiveness of the Iraqi Army to counter the attacks.
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