In an April 14 briefing, Volesky disclosed challenges in honoring the U.S. troop
withdrawal agreement with Baghdad. The colonel acknowledged an insufficient
number of Iraqi security forces in the province amid a shrinking Interior
Ministry budget, exacerbated by low oil prices.
The Interior Ministry has deployed an elite unit to help battle Al Qaida
around Mosul. The Mosul Special Weapons and Tactics, or SWAT, team has been
working with U.S. Army advisers to identify and capture Al Qaida operatives.
On April 8, the SWAT team arrested two suspects linked to IED attacks.
Officials said the Iraq Army has taken the lead in the majority of
operations around Mosul. But they acknowledged that security forces lack
often the most basic of equipment.
In April 2009, an Iraqi night police operation was suspended when
officers couldn't find flashlights. In the end, Iraqi businessmen were
pressed by U.S. officers to donate 36 flashlights.
"They need to have the bare necessities, obviously weapons and
ammunition," Sgt. Glen MacDonald, a U.S. military police platoon leader who
mentors the Iraqi police, said. "If they are supposed to be out at night,
they're going to need flashlights."
Officials said many Iraqi security units remained unable to lead
operations around Mosul. They acknowledged that in many cases U.S. forces
were left responsible for missions, accompanied by a smattering of Iraqi
police
officers.
A key problem, officials said, was a shortage of Iraqi police in
Nineveh. They said the U.S. military has set a requirement for another 5,300
police in the province.
"Right now, we've asked for about 5,300 Iraqi policemen to come in to
start to get that police presence in the city of Mosul," Volesky
said. "That's how we start to get to a return to normalcy."
The need for additional Iraqi security manpower reflected the continuing
chaos in the Interior Ministry. Officials said more than 20 percent of the
25,000 Iraqi police on the payroll in Nineveh simply don't exist. They said
4,000 of the officers listed have either died or fled.
With insufficient manpower, Al Qaida has sustained mass-casualty strikes
throughout Nineveh. In March, nearly 100 people were killed in a spate of
suicide car bombings aimed mostly at Iraqi police and army. At least six
U.S. soldiers were also killed over the last two weeks.
"I believe that Al Qaida still is here," Volesky said. "That's who's
doing these big SVBIEDs."
Officials said a similar assessment of Iraqi security capabilities was
being conducted in the Baghdad area. They said senior commanders were urging
Al Maliki to order an extension of U.S. troop deployment beyond July.
"I know that I'm collecting that data right now, working with my Iraqi
security forces, and it'll get forwarded up to our higher headquarters in
the next few weeks," Volesky said. "I don't have that date. I just know,
from my brigade perspective, we're collecting that data and getting feedback
from our Iraqi counterparts right now."
But officials acknowledged that the Interior Ministry was unlikely to
hire the required level of police in Mosul. They said the ministry, like the
rest of the government, has been forced to significantly reduce its budget
amid the sharp drop in oil prices over the last year.
"The oil prices have gone down and so there have been some budget
issues," Volesky said.