Oct 6, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Thousands of Iraqi police officers have been wounded or killed over the last two years, said the U.S. commander in charge of police training in Iraq on Friday.
Since September 2004, about 4,000 officers have been killed and 8,000 injured, said Maj. Gen. Joseph Paterson in a teleconference from Baghdad with Pentagon reporters. The police have "paid a great price," he said.
U.S. commanders are focused on reducing violence in Baghdad to the level where the Iraqi police can take over security. With the Iraqi capital secured, U.S. leaders say the Iraqi government can switch its focus on providing security and basic services to the rest of the country. That would set the conditions for U.S. troops to begin withdrawing.
But the Iraqi police have been criticized for their performance and for ties to militias and death squads suspected of hundreds of kidnappings and murders each month in Iraq.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/10/06/iraq.main/index.htmlI hate to see their workmans comp rates. :sarcasm: