With Friends like these...
The Iraqi police force is rife with abuse. This according to Iraqi Interior Ministry documents, the L.A. Times reports.
This is confirmation of what many have suspected for quite some time. Tales of rape, torture and killing read like an indictment of Saddam Hussein...
-- Police tortured detainees with electricity and in at least one case, anal rape, in Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Rusafa. But prisoners whose relatives could bribe the guards were released.
But what is equally troubling is the evidence that the police are actively fuelling the insurgency....
-- A ring of Baghdad police officers, including a colonel, two lieutenants and a captain, stole communications equipment for insurgents, who used it for remote bomb triggers.
-- A medic with one of the MOI's elite commando units was fired after he was accused of planting roadside bombs and assassinating people.
The U.S. is not going to address this problem directly...
US officials have known of the police abuses for years but want the Iraqis to solve the problem, officials told the Times.
Yea, that seems logical. It isn't like the U.S. invaded, dissolved the police force, trained the new policemen and put them on the street promising an end to the chaos soon.
Or did they?
This is confirmation of what many have suspected for quite some time. Tales of rape, torture and killing read like an indictment of Saddam Hussein...
-- Police tortured detainees with electricity and in at least one case, anal rape, in Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Rusafa. But prisoners whose relatives could bribe the guards were released.
But what is equally troubling is the evidence that the police are actively fuelling the insurgency....
-- A ring of Baghdad police officers, including a colonel, two lieutenants and a captain, stole communications equipment for insurgents, who used it for remote bomb triggers.
-- A medic with one of the MOI's elite commando units was fired after he was accused of planting roadside bombs and assassinating people.
The U.S. is not going to address this problem directly...
US officials have known of the police abuses for years but want the Iraqis to solve the problem, officials told the Times.
Yea, that seems logical. It isn't like the U.S. invaded, dissolved the police force, trained the new policemen and put them on the street promising an end to the chaos soon.
Or did they?
posted by Praguetwin at
2:16 PM
4 Comments:
And the chaos continues to worsen. 50 killed yesterday by Shiite militias. Car bombs in retaliation. Do we have a civil war yet, President Neuman?
By
Anonymous, at 9:52 PM
I was just thinking that civil war seems immenet, and yet we have seen this before.
As much goes on, sadly things seem to stay the same. Remember the string of killings about a month ago, I think it was over 100 in 3 days.
A safe bet is the status quo, but talk of the Mehdi army getting their hands dirty is truly frightening.
By
Praguetwin, at 11:10 PM
Old report.
Purge started in March and the INP units are now in the field again with US advisors embeded and US units partnered to train them. (Read keep them honest.) More than 7,000 police were fired. Still housecleaning IP outside the Baghdad area (e.g. Basrah).
You should keep up...
By
Anonymous, at 4:01 AM
This was a wrapup report for over a one year peroid covering 2005, and 2006, so in that case you can say it is old. I hadn't actually reported on this although I have been aware of it for quite some time. Now that the documents have been authenticated, it seemed like a good time to.
Are you saying that the problems of corruption and abuse within the police force have been eliminated?
Also, what did they do with all the guys they purged?
Thanks for the comment, and the information.
PT
By
Praguetwin, at 9:04 AM
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