Posted on 04/28/2007 4:38:19 PM PDT by Flavius
NUMANIYAH, Iraq - A smoke grenade is tossed and Iraq's most elite paramilitary commandos storm an apartment building. The raid goes off without a hitch
The problem is that it's just an exercise — part of the Pentagon's four-week drills for the Iraqi National Police. In reality, Iraqi commanders say it could be years before the force is competent enough to control Baghdad on its own.
Or like "trying to build an airplane while you're flying it," said Col. Chip Lewis, the chief U.S. training officer for the National Police.
The slow pace of police training highlights just one of the conundrums taking shape amid calls for an American troop withdrawal timetable: How to begin an exit strategy without leaving behind a crippled state that's easy prey for al-Qaida or homegrown militias?
"I think the National Police need five years, certainly not just until the end of the summer," a senior police commander said on condition of anonymity because he feared jeopardizing his relationships with the U.S. officers.
"Not only do I fear for my life, I fear for the lives of all my men and the future of this country," the officer said. "I'm asking the U.S. to look at us really honestly and be the judge. Look at Iraq's leaders and tell me: Can this country function on its own?"
The Baghdad security plan, which began in February, offers a sobering reply. The U.S.-led clampdown has made progress in reclaiming lawless districts, but remains unable to stop devastating suicide blasts and other attacks blamed on Sunni insurgents.
The 20,000-strong Iraqi National Police has joined the security sweeps alongside other Iraqi forces, including the army. Plans call for the paramilitary National Police to assume full responsibility for keeping Baghdad secure once — or if — violence is brought under control.
But the struggle in Baghdad has forced the U.S. military to concentrate on current operations rather than long-range training for the National Police, which was organized in 2005 to fill the gap between local security forces and the Iraqi military.
"The priority has changed," said Col. Juwad Kazim, a National Police commander in east Baghdad. "The focus isn't on us right now."
Brig. Gen. Dana Pittard, who oversees U.S. teams working with the police, said the priorities have shifted along with a change in the top brass in Iraq.
Under the former top U.S. commander for Iraq, Gen. George Casey, the main goal was to move to full Iraqi control. The plans were amended when Gen. David Petraeus assumed command in February.
"Now the change is subtle, but it's there, to security first," said Pittard, of El Paso, Texas.
About six months ago, the U.S. set up a facility in Numaniyah, a wind-swept town 77 miles southeast of Baghdad, to "rehabilitate" Iraqi National Police units — which were widely accused of incompetence and links to Shiite militias.
About half of Iraq's National Police has passed through Numaniyah. During a four-week course, they conduct mock raids on gutted apartment blocks built by Saddam Hussein in the 1990s to house Iranians who changed sides during the Iran-Iraq war.
The hollow pop of AK-47 assault rifles — firing blanks — echoes off cement walls. Smoke grenades are tossed for cover. Homes get raided again and again.
But one member of the corps, Murtada Khalaf, 30, said he's still feels uneasy about policing the streets of Baghdad.
"My commander saw that we lack some experience still, but the course is ending. I just need to practice out in the streets and I think I'll be ready," he said.
Khalaf, a father of two, will be deployed next week to a checkpoint somewhere in Baghdad, where 90 percent of the force is based. The goal is to expand to 25,000 by the end of year, but remain strongly focused on Baghdad.
The senior Iraqi police commander, who oversees Khalaf's unit and several others, said his men were not tactically "mature" enough to police Baghdad, even with the help of local police and Iraqi army units.
"We're not ready to lead or police this country yet. Iraq is like a sick man, who the Americans came and operated on. Now we're recuperating," the official said.
While the capability of the National Police has improved, four weeks training is still "not nearly enough," said Lt. Col. Anthony Cornett of the Army's 3rd Battalion, 7th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.
"Right now we have issues with human rights, corruption and sectarian militias. We've got to root that out first before they can really take over," the Columbus, Ohio native said.
With pressure mounting in the U.S. to end the Iraq mission, some U.S. trainers say they have no choice but to push their cadets into Baghdad's dangerous streets — often before they are ready.
"We don't have more time to give them. They've got to get out there, so it's basically `OJT' — on the job training," Cornett said.
The risks are evident. About 15 percent of the national police force is lost each year either through casualties or desertion, said Lewis of Milledgeville, Ga.
Police are often the target of attacks by insurgents who accuse them of betraying Iraq by cooperating with the Americans. Their very presence on Baghdad's streets also makes them vulnerable to roadside bombs — the leading killer of U.S. soldiers in Iraq as well.
"The National Police are mainly in pickup trucks instead of Humvees. We're trying to get their vehicles armored to provide them some survivability," said Lewis. "But they're clearly more vulnerable than American or even Iraqi soldiers."
Five years to train a police officer? I was a Sergeant promotable in the Army in five years. If this is the case, it is not good.
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