How Ghost Soldiers Are Bleeding the Iraqi Army of Guns and Money

January 19, 2007
How Ghost Soldiers Are Bleeding the Iraqi Army of Guns and Money

He expressed most concern over the "ghost soldiers". "The brigade, for instance, will submit a pay
roster to the MoD every month," he said. "Let's say it has 2,000 names; 1,700 names may actually
exist. What happens to the money for the other 300 people? It gets divided among various people,
various key personnel in the brigade, especially the brigade general."

Colonel Sabih wonders how he can ever win the confidence of Fallujah residents when his Army is
too weak to challenge groups such as al-Qaeda.

"On their own, they [Fallujah residents] would trust the Army, but by force, they are obliged
to trust the insurgents."