Iraqi Insurgents May Be Infiltrating Police, U.S. Report Says
July 26 (Bloomberg) -- The training of Iraqi police forces, a key element of U.S. strategy, is hampered by faulty screening of recruits that may be letting insurgents infiltrate new units, a joint review by the U.S. State and Defense departments found.
``There is sufficient evidence to conclude that such persons indeed are among the ranks'' of the Iraqi Police Service, the report, released yesterday, says. ``This underscores the need for the most rigorous possible review'' of police recruits.
The review team from the inspectors general offices at the two Cabinet departments concludes that Iraqis are ``better able to screen candidates than are Coalition military personnel'' and recommends the Iraqi Ministry of Interior take over that role. Still, it called the effort to rebuild the Iraq police forces a ``qualified success.''
The U.S. is counting on Iraqi police and military forces to take over security duty from coalition troops as the country continues toward forming a permanent government. President George W. Bush said in a July 4 speech that ``As Iraqis stand up, we will stand down.'' Insurgents have been targeting Iraqi forces as well as the U.S. and its coalition partners.
The report's finding on infiltration of police ranks ``is no huge surprise,'' said Michael O'Hanlon, a foreign policy analyst at the Brookings Institution in Washington. The larger problem, he said, is that recruits often are pressured by insurgents to take steps that undermine the security effort.
Intimidation
Iraqi police officers ``are often intimidated into quitting or even into providing information, or releasing people from jail, or giving advance notice on when raids will occur,'' said O'Hanlon, who oversees the Brookings Iraq Index, which tracks reconstruction statistics and security-related data in Iraq.
The push to get the Iraqi forces ready may be straining the capability of the U.S.-led coalition to vet and train recruits. The report faults the coalition for stressing quantity over quality.
``The emphasis on numbers overshadows the attention that should be given to the qualitative performance of those trained,'' the report says.
The U.S. goal is to train and equip 135,000 police by the end of 2006. A State Department official who briefed reporters on the review said 60,000 have been trained so far.
``Despite recent improvements, too many recruits are marginally literate; some show up for training with criminal records or physical handicaps; and some recruits allegedly are infiltrating insurgents,'' the report says.
The report does not detail the scope of infiltration by insurgents. It says that ``several Iraqi sources'' advised the investigative team ``that there are known insurgents within the ranks of students.''
Short of Funds
It also says the Iraqis are short of money. The Ministry of Interior ``cannot fund the ministry's existing staff of about 170,000, let alone the additional numbers projected for training,'' the report says.
The six-member Inspectors General team reviewed training programs for Iraqi police in Jordan and Iraq during five weeks in February and March.
Iraqi recruits are getting eight weeks of training in a facility in Jordan or at one of several training sites in Iraq. The Iraqi police have been a prime terrorist target, with more than 1,600 police officers killed in the past year, according to the report.
``Given the dangers involved, it is not surprising that every aspect of the training program has been difficult,'' the report said.
The report cited good performance by Iraqi police during the January elections, increased visibility on the streets, and polls indicating growing confidence in the Iraqi police force.
The review team urged a ``closer dialogue'' between the Iraqi government and the U.S.-led coalition in setting the direction of the training program.
``Iraqi police forces, like the Iraqi military, are developing at the same time the Iraqi people are building democracy and self-government,'' Lieutenant Colonel Barry Venable, a Pentagon spokesman, said when asked for comment on the report. ``There is progress to report, yet much work remains.''
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