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THE US army is training more than 8,000 Iraqi troops to be at the forefront of the coalition’s threatened assault to wrest back control of the rebel stronghold of Falluja.A division made up of three brigades of special counterinsurgency troops from the new Iraqi army is being prepared to join an attack on the city of 300,000 people. America believes its most wanted man in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the terrorist mastermind, is sheltering there. “The key to a successful capture of Falluja and holding it secure is the use of well trained Iraqi forces. The people there will never...

Iraq's Border Enforcement Department Graduates First Cadet Class American Forces Press Service AMMAN, Jordan, Sept. 29, 2004 -- Iraq graduated its first class of cadets from the Department of Border Enforcement training course here Sept. 27. U.S. Army Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus, who heads Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq, attended the event along with Col. Alaa al Ubaydi from Iraq's DBE, and the director of the border enforcement training facility in Jordan, Kathy Friebald. In his remarks Petraeus challenged graduating cadets to take what they have learned back to Iraq with them and use it to set the...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) on Sunday said anti-American sentiment in the Muslim world had increased and the insurgency in Iraq (news - web sites) was worsening, but the United States was taking action to improve security ahead of elections.

BAQUBA, Iraq, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The U.S military said on Sunday it arrested the head of the Iraqi National Guard in the city of Baquba, only a week after appointing him, on suspicion of collaborating with insurgents. Lieutenant General Talib al-Lahibi headed the Iraqi National Guard in the violent Diyala province and commanded three battalions before being arrested on Thursday. "Lahibi was detained by Multi-National Forces Sept 23 for having associations with known insurgents," the U.S. military said in a statement. "Talib is currently in Multi-National Forces control." Lahibi had been appointed to his new post only a...

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 September 15, 2004Release Number: 04-09-45 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE IRAQI POLICE, MNF-I THWART MORTAR ATTACK, FOIL ROADSIDE BOMB MOSUL, Iraq -- Iraqi Police and Multi-National Forces from the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) thwarted a mortar attack, detained three people wanted for anti-Iraqi activities, foiled a roadside bomb attack and discovered a variety of weapons and munitions Tuesday in northern Iraq. Iraqi Police thwarted a possible mortar attack against Multi-National Forces when they discovered four anti-Iraqi personnel...

Tigris Tales Iraqis are policing Iraq now, which means that detainees are being beaten instead of sexually humiliated Ghaith Abdul-Ahad Tuesday August 31, 2004 The Guardian From day one of the occupation/liberation, everyone banged on about the importance of handing real power and eventually sovereignty to the Iraqis. Every day in the pre-handover era, a mean-looking politician of one sort or another would come on TV and demand real power for the Iraqis (ie, his political group), especially in security matters. After all, "We Iraqis know better than the Americans how to deal with our fellow citizens and can do...

      Iraqi Border Forces To Take on Heavy Training11,000 Officers To Be Trained by Year's End By U.S. Army Sgt. Jared Zabaldo / Multinational Security Transition Command - Iraq BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 26, 2004 — The Iraqi Department of Border Enforcement, as part of the Iraqi government’s continuing effort to provide peace and security to the citizens of Iraq, is establishing a new and comprehensive training program that will produce a fully trained, equipped, and professional force of 11,000 officers by the end of December 2004. The program, under construction with Coalition and U.S. Department of Homeland Security assistance, will...

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- Iraq's security forces, ordered to prepare for an offensive against the Mahdi Army in Najaf, have been plagued by a desertion rate that exceeded 80 percent. A U.S. report warned that Iraqi Interior Ministry troops remain unprepared to fight Shi'ite or Sunni insurgents and could not be deemed reliable. The report, published before the current showdown in Najaf, said the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps, renamed the Iraqi National Guard, has not been trained to fight insurgents armed with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy weapons. "Effective Iraqi security forces are critical for transitioning security responsibilities to Iraq," the Government...

Iraqi Ministers of Defense, State speak to Iraqi troops in historical eventSubmitted by: 11th MEUStory Identification #: 200481774636Story by Gunnery Sgt. Chago Zapata FORWARD OPERATING BASE DUKE, Iraq (Aug. 16, 2004) -- Iraq's Minister of Defense Hazem Sha'alan and a Minister of State Kasim Daoud spoke to members of Iraq's Security Forces during a visit to the base here today. Today's visit marked a historical, first-ever meeting with these specific units for both members of Iraq's Interim Government. They used this opportunity to talk to the soldiers and inspire then to continue their dedicated service to the country of...

NEWS RELEASEHEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND7115 South Boundary BoulevardMacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894 August 7, 2004Release Number: 04-08-23 MNF-Iraq: Iraqi security forces confiscate weapons cache, disable roadside bomb MOSUL, IRAQ (August 7, 2004) – Iraqi Police and Iraqi National Guard patrols destroyed a roadside bomb and secured several weapons, munitions, explosives and communication devices yesterday in the continuing effort to improve the safety and security of the citizens of northern Iraq. Iraqi Police patrolling in the Al Karama neighborhood of western Mosul discovered a large cache consisting of 10 communication devices, 11 anti-tank...

Iraqis Graduating from Police, Military Training American Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, Aug. 4, 2004 - Within the week, 654 Iraqis will graduate from police academies and join the ranks of those striving to secure their country. After their graduation from Iraqi Police Service basic training on Aug. 5, 552 recruits will report to duty stations in Baghdad. The ceremony comes at the conclusion of eight weeks of basic training. Coalition military police taught recruits the fundamental policing skills, techniques and ideals of law enforcement employed in a free society. The Iraqi Police Service's Adnon Police Training Facility also will hold...

Iraqis Assuming More Control in Security Matters American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Aug. 2, 2004 -- Several shifts in authority over the weekend demonstrate that Iraqis are assuming more control within their country. Pilots arriving at Baghdad International Airport will notice a distinct lack of Aussie accents after multinational forces passed control of the country's largest civilian air-traffic-control center back to Iraqi officials. Royal Australian Air Force personnel have spent the past six months training Iraqi controllers to safely operate the country's vital air hub, according to a news release from Multinational Force Iraq. The commander of Australian forces...

France set to brake U.S. on NATO training Iraqis BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO, urged on by the United States, hopes to finalise plans this week for NATO to train Iraqi security forces. But NATO member France wants to slow things down, arguing for only the dispatch of another alliance fact-finding mission, diplomats said on Monday. NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told a news conference he "really hoped" the 26-nation alliance would take a decision this week on its support for Baghdad's battle against insurgents. NATO ambassadors are due to meet on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss the training, which...

BAGHDAD -- For the olive-green pickup truck, it was just one small stretch of road. For the half-dozen Iraqi men and one woman seated inside the cabin and flatbed, it was one giant leap.     For the first time since the announcement of sovereignty, the squad of young soldiers of the new Iraqi National Guard ventured out onto the streets without a U.S. Army escort.     The mission one recent day: Escort a busload of young recruits from the Muthana Airport base to Camp Sara, another base on the other side of town.      A giant Iraqi flag waved from their vehicle....

This afternoon, I watched a report on Al-Hurra TV about a couple of successful operations for the Iraqi security forces in which huge amounts of weapons and ammunition were found; one was by the IP in Najaf city while the other was by the National Guards in Baghdad. This not the first time of course we hear of such successful operations but the new observation this time is that some of the confiscated weapons and ammunition are not from the ususal origins you can see in Iraq (automatic rifles other than the Ak47, bazookas other than the RPG7 and other...

ARTICLE TOOLS Email This Article E-Mail This Article Printer Friendly Format Printer-Friendly Format Most E-mailed Articles Most E-Mailed Articles Reprints & Permissions Reprints & Permissions Single Page Format Single-Page Format The Reach of War Go to Complete Coverage TIMES NEWS TRACKER Topics Alerts Iraq Armament, Defense and Military Forces United States International Relations Lynsey Addario for The New York Times While on patrol last week, Iraqi soldiers paused to speak with an Iraqi woman south of Baghdad. BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 17 — Gradually, ever so imperceptibly, the ground is beginning to shift. The legions of American soldiers who not so...

By JAMIE TARABAYASSOCIATED PRESS BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - 0712iraq-alyawer Iraqi interim President Ghazi al-Yawer threatened Monday to use a "very sharp sword" to fight insurgents threatening the security of the country, a day after three U.S. soldiers died in attacks north of Baghdad. Also Monday, France and Iraq restored diplomatic relations that were severed before the Gulf War 13 years ago. Al-Yawer spoke two weeks after the United States handed sovereignty over to an interim Iraqi government. The handover, however, has not quelled the violence that has wracked the country since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime nearly 15...

BAGHDAD -- In the two weeks since they took back control of their country, Iraqi security forces are showing their mettle. Last week, on the capital's busiest shopping street in Karada, an alert cop spotted a car bomb packed with 1,500 pounds of explosives that could have killed dozens. Farther north, a platoon of Iraqi National Guard killed a pair of suicide bombers and dragged the explosives from the vehicle before they detonated. Hundreds of Iraqi soldiers now patrol the streets, and dozens have been killed or injured in the past week in firefights with insurgents who seem to be...

BAGHDAD -- Yesterday's announcement of a new national-security law is the most dramatic in a string of moves by Iraqi officials, both local and national, to get tough on crime and insurgents.     In Baghdad, the police and Interior Ministry are conducting large-scale sweeps throughout the city to arrest criminal suspects, while in the Shi'ite shrine city of Najaf, local officials have imposed a 7 p.m. curfew to deal with insurgents.     Local judges, meanwhile, have reinstated the death penalty that U.S. occupation authorities had suspended, and the Interior Ministry says it soon will begin removing tens of thousands of squatters from...

The Iraqi government has announced a new law allowing it to take aggressive action to put down an on-going insurgency, including the right to declare martial law. But it remains far from certain whether Iraqi security forces will be able to enforce it or whether it will be up to foreign forces, nearly all of them American, to carry out any security clampdown. With many of its own forces ill-equipped and poorly trained, the newly sovereign Iraq has been relying on the more than 150,000 American-led foreign forces in the country to help combat a rebellion by terrorists, Islamic militants...