Americans, Iraqis Vie for Control of Security Forces

[Barrett808]

Americans, Iraqis Vie for Control of Security Forces
by Dahr Jamail
Tuesday, June 15

Baghdad - Even as authorities for the US-run occupation cede a greater share of security responsibilities to Iraqi forces, spokespeople for the Iraqi police and paramilitaries in many areas of the war-torn country say they lack the legitimacy and tools necessary to carry out their duties. With the transfer of official sovereignty to a US-sanctioned governing body just over two weeks away, officials with both the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and the Iraqi Police complain they are understaffed, under-equipped and undermined by the US.

And where US control over indigenous security forces ends, it is becoming clearer that the authority of local resistance forces begins.

PHOTO: An Iraqi Police recruitment billboard in the Adhamiya neighborhood of Baghdad, a sign of the times. (Dahr Jamail/NewStandard)

Bassim Mahmoud Hamid, the Iraqi Police (IP) spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior, says the lack of autonomy from the US military has placed IP personnel in the precarious position of being closely linked to the occupation, rendering them unpopular with ordinary Iraqis and targets of the resistance. "We’ve lost more than 200 policemen in Baghdad in the last two months, and ten high ranking officers who have been assassinated," Hamid said during an interview in the Coalition conference center.

There are definite signs that the ICDC and Iraqi Police in the rebellious city of Fallujah are working independently of their US backers. But they appear less independent of the local resistance forces.

Hamid said he is frustrated by what he sees as Coalition forces usurping his authority. "We are arresting criminals, and the military are coming and forcing us to release some of them, and this has caused many problems for us," Hamid said. "After June 30, I hope that we’ll be allowed to do the job we have been trained to do, without the interference of the Americans." Hamid noted that in a rush to free prisoners from Abu Ghraib and other facilities, the US is setting loose many people the police believe constitute an actual danger to Iraqi society.

(more)

http://newstandardnews.net/content/?action=show_item&itemid=542

[Dhalgren]

1. The Iraqi security people have got to understand

that this is all "window dressing", not "real". Jeeze, do they actually think they are going to be in charge? They are to be the human shields for the Occupation Forces so that Bush can have fewer casualities amongst the human...I mean US, forces until after the election. Then it won't matter how many US soldiers get killed, so all bets will be off.

[damnraddem]

2. The cynicism is understood and appreciated, but ...

you get rights by exercising them. If the Iraqi security forces can wrest more control from the US by exercising greater independence, that's fine. Yes, the US can overwhelm them, may often overrule them -- but there is a political price to be paid for that, too. It's understandable that various actors will be pushing the envelope, especially in the coming weeks, no matter what the Bushistas might wish.

[leftchick]

3. Fallujah is now known as "Little Saudi Arabia" in Iraq....

Have you seen this Barrett? Not very comforting and was oh so predictable....
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/8926931.htm


<snip>
Since U.S. Marines pulled out in May after a month-long siege, a mix of homegrown guerrillas and foreign holy warriors have taken over Fallujah, now nicknamed "Little Saudi Arabia" for its extremist brand of Sunni Islam.

"You go there and see the mujahedeen at the checkpoints," said a co-worker of three Lebanese men who were taken hostage, then murdered, in Fallujah last week. "Where are the Marines? Where is the Iraqi army?"

The three were hog-tied and beaten with steel pipes. Then one man was shot several times in the face, another was disemboweled and the third was hacked to pieces, said surviving hostages and other workers at their Lebanese-owned contracting firm.

The kidnappers made no ransom demand. They simply dumped the three mutilated corpses in an industrial area as a statement about who's running Fallujah.

[Barrett808]

4. I haven't seen this particular story, but...

...it jibes with other stories I've read. For example, alcohol vendors were recently paraded through the Fallujah streets and beaten.

Scary stuff -- can you post a link? Ah, I see you've already gotten to it, thanks.