Report of the Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq

The 152 page Report of the Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq, released Sept. 6, 2007, concludes that although the Iraqi Security Forces are improving, they will not be able to operate independently in the next 12 to 18 months to "secure Iraqi borders against conventional military and external threats" (p.12). Headed by General James L. Jones, Jr., USMC (Ret.), the commission lists separate findings and recommendations for each branch of the Iraqi military (Army, Navy, Air Force), the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Interior, the Iraqi Police, the National Police (recommended disbanding them), and the Department of Border Enforcement.