U.S. to Intensify Its Training in Iraq to Battle Insurgents

"WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 - Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the top American commander in Iraq, is so concerned that the military's counterinsurgency training must be sharpened in the face of increasingly flexible and deadly attackers that he has ordered the formation of a new school in Iraq for officers, according to senior military officials.

The school, which will open in the next few days at the Iraqi military base in Taji, north of Baghdad, will be for Army and Marine battalion and company commanders immediately after they arrive.

It is seen as a clearinghouse where field commanders can pass on the latest tactics and situations in the country. Among the topics will be patrol methods, techniques to find and destroy roadside bombs, and education on the various insurgent factions. And in the long term, it is hoped that the format can be passed on to the new Iraqi Army and security forces."
NYT