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Aug 1, 2004 -
While many hoped that transferring control of the Iraqi Police force from direct US command to the authority of the US-installed interim government would curb corruption in its ranks, under the watch of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and Interior Minister Falah Al-Naqib, the trend toward corruption appears to continue unabated.
In response, the United States is preparing to spend $60 million to fire and pay severence to some 30,000 police officers hired under the former US occupation authority, according to Dan Waddington, a senior American police advisor.
Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesperson Sabah Kadhim told IRIN, the UN's humaitarian Affairs news service, that US military consultants "are recruiting many people who are not desirable," some of whom "were criminals in the former regime" of Saddam Hussein. "Many of those people had no respect for basic human rights," he continued."They were torturing people..." Kadhim said there was "no problem"keepingthe former leaders of the police forces, "as long as they didn't commit any crime."
The official number of Iraqi Police killed in service since the occupation began and the force was reconstituted is around 800. While the highly visible IP officers are a prime target of the resistance, their superiors have ordered them to carry out swift resumption of security in Iraq.
But numerous cases charging severe police brutality, gross misuse of force and wrongful death have marred any success a recent series of raids in Baghdad may have had at apprehending criminals.
Waddington,excuses the harsh tactics of the forces he trained. Despite the fact that US paramilitaries and instructors have "tried to instill [American] values," Waddington said to Newsday, "If the people of Iraq believe that type of force is justified... are we the ones to say, 'No, do it by our standards'?"
