.US commander wants better police for Iraqi city
MOSUL, Iraq (AP) - A senior U.S. commander, acknowledging that Iraq's now most violent city has been neglected for too long, says that only well-trained police rather than military forces could ensure Mosul's long-term security.
Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, who heads U.S. troops in northern Iraq, told senior Iraqi police officers Wednesday that when American and Iraqi army units inevitably pull out of the city, its security will be in the hands of a now undermanned and inadequately trained police.
Shortly before Hertling's arrival, a car bomb targeting police at a traffic circle killed two people and injured six others, according to a U.S. Military Police report.
In another incident, a grenade was tossed at U.S. troops by a passing motorist who was quickly apprehended. There were no reports of casualties in that attack.
But despite the almost daily violence, the U.S. military says attacks are down by almost half since May, when a major operation was launched to clear al-Qaida and other insurgent groups who fled Baghdad and other areas to Mosul in wake of the U.S. surge.
A second operation began Oct. 15, and the U.S. military says 23,000 Iraqi army and paramilitary police, along with U.S. army units, have now moved into the city, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad.
The sprawling northern hub is bristling with Iraqi checkpoints and U.S. combat outposts.
"We have not supported you enough. We have focused too much on Baghdad," Hertling told a class at Mosul's police training school. "We have been very successful with our army operations but we have not done as well in getting enough policemen on the streets."
He said 49,000 policemen patrolled Baghdad while there were only 25,000 in all of Nineveh province. Mosul, a city of some 1.8 million, is the provincial capital.
The police training school, known as the Mosul Public Safety Academy, is set to double its intake to 1,000 next month for its basic, four-week course. Hertling toured the building site of an adjacent academy for police officers scheduled to open in early 2009.
Iraqi police, who have a widespread reputation for corruption and are often thrown into their jobs untrained, are being sent to the school for courses.
At Haddba district, one of the city's most violence-ridden, the police executive officer said he was short of men, a number of whom have been killed or wounded in recent months.
"Sometimes when we lose our martyrs, or they are wounded, we don't get replacements for them," Lt. Col. Adel Abdul Kader told Hertling.
But he said the recent security lock-down has slashed terrorist acts by about 75 percent in his densely populated district, although crime levels remained the same. The people, feeling more secure, are now coming forward with more tips, he said.
"There are certainly some problems with the Iraqi police but there is also some movement," said Lt. Col. Brian R. Bisacre, whose 728th Military Police Battalion was moved up to Mosul a month ago to work hand-in-hand with the Mosul force, improving training and supplying everything from boots to bunkbeds.
"With all the extra security forces in place, the police have a breathing space. They have to take advantage of the next three to four months," said Bisacre, of Wakefield, Massachusetts. If nothing goes awry, he anticipates "a solid police force" by the spring or summer of 2009.
Maj. Gen. Ahmed Hassan Atia, dean of the police school, seemed less optimistic.
"The key to success is local cooperation with the security forces. This is a street war with gangsters who can choose their time of attack," he said. "We need intelligence more than force, and a bridge of trust between us and the people. That will take years."
MyWay
Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, who heads U.S. troops in northern Iraq, told senior Iraqi police officers Wednesday that when American and Iraqi army units inevitably pull out of the city, its security will be in the hands of a now undermanned and inadequately trained police.
Shortly before Hertling's arrival, a car bomb targeting police at a traffic circle killed two people and injured six others, according to a U.S. Military Police report.
In another incident, a grenade was tossed at U.S. troops by a passing motorist who was quickly apprehended. There were no reports of casualties in that attack.
But despite the almost daily violence, the U.S. military says attacks are down by almost half since May, when a major operation was launched to clear al-Qaida and other insurgent groups who fled Baghdad and other areas to Mosul in wake of the U.S. surge.
A second operation began Oct. 15, and the U.S. military says 23,000 Iraqi army and paramilitary police, along with U.S. army units, have now moved into the city, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad.
The sprawling northern hub is bristling with Iraqi checkpoints and U.S. combat outposts.
"We have not supported you enough. We have focused too much on Baghdad," Hertling told a class at Mosul's police training school. "We have been very successful with our army operations but we have not done as well in getting enough policemen on the streets."
He said 49,000 policemen patrolled Baghdad while there were only 25,000 in all of Nineveh province. Mosul, a city of some 1.8 million, is the provincial capital.
The police training school, known as the Mosul Public Safety Academy, is set to double its intake to 1,000 next month for its basic, four-week course. Hertling toured the building site of an adjacent academy for police officers scheduled to open in early 2009.
Iraqi police, who have a widespread reputation for corruption and are often thrown into their jobs untrained, are being sent to the school for courses.
At Haddba district, one of the city's most violence-ridden, the police executive officer said he was short of men, a number of whom have been killed or wounded in recent months.
"Sometimes when we lose our martyrs, or they are wounded, we don't get replacements for them," Lt. Col. Adel Abdul Kader told Hertling.
But he said the recent security lock-down has slashed terrorist acts by about 75 percent in his densely populated district, although crime levels remained the same. The people, feeling more secure, are now coming forward with more tips, he said.
"There are certainly some problems with the Iraqi police but there is also some movement," said Lt. Col. Brian R. Bisacre, whose 728th Military Police Battalion was moved up to Mosul a month ago to work hand-in-hand with the Mosul force, improving training and supplying everything from boots to bunkbeds.
"With all the extra security forces in place, the police have a breathing space. They have to take advantage of the next three to four months," said Bisacre, of Wakefield, Massachusetts. If nothing goes awry, he anticipates "a solid police force" by the spring or summer of 2009.
Maj. Gen. Ahmed Hassan Atia, dean of the police school, seemed less optimistic.
"The key to success is local cooperation with the security forces. This is a street war with gangsters who can choose their time of attack," he said. "We need intelligence more than force, and a bridge of trust between us and the people. That will take years."
MyWay
posted by madtom at 1:35 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home