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Lebanon deploys troops to Syria border, Hizbullah moves South

SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Wednesday, October 4, 2006

IRAQI POLICE REACH NEARLY FULL LEVEL BAGHDAD — Iraq has nearly completed its training and equipping goal for the national police force.

Officials said more than 128,000 of the 135,000 planned Iraqi police have been trained and equipped. They said the training mission would be completed in mid-October.

"The capabilities of the police force [have] improved significantly, and in addition to just quantity, we're also working on quality now," Maj. Gen. Joseph Peterson, commander of the civilian police assistance training team, said.

[On Wednesday, at least 52 people, including 11 U.S. soldiers, were reported killed around Iraq. Many of them died in a series of bombs in a shopping district in Baghdad.]

Peterson told a news conference that by December 2006 the U.S.-led coalition would probably exceed Iraqi security force levels. He said that by the end of 2006, Iraqis would take control of 12 police academies and begin training police supervisors.

Officials said the coalition has sought to improve the quality of Iraqi police officers. They said 185 police transition teams, including civil policemen and international police liaison officers, have been embedded with police stations at all levels.

A key goal was to sever links between the security forces and militias. Peterson said he has not seen evidence that the Interior Ministry was involved in militias or death squads.

"We continue to query our leadership of the police forces to make that a concern and to ensure that we do not have militias operating within their organizations," Peterson said.

Col. Sean McFarland, commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, which operates in Anbar, reported a sharp increase in police recruiting in the western Iraqi province. McFarland said attacks have also dropped by 25 percent over the last few months as Iraqi and U.S. forces have increased their presence in the Anbar capital of Ramadi.

"The Iraqi police recruiting has soared 10-fold, and the Iraqi army readiness has improved to the point where Iraqi army battalions are now assuming the lead in portions of the city and its suburbs," McFarland said in a briefing on Sept. 29.


Copyright © 2006 East West Services, Inc.

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