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The controversial conflicts of both Northern Ireland and Iraq saw military figures make a series of blunders that undermined security efforts. In this article it is forwarded that the Northern Ireland security precedent should have been leveraged to avoid unforced errors in Iraq. The lessons and examples of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) would have demonstrated the clear risks and pitfalls in the wholesale disbanding of the Iraqi Army in 2003. The value of this comparison is the series of lessons that can be drawn for future local forces – particular in the importance of their presence and retention