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.