Iraq: September 4, 2003

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The retained national Iraqi police force is now 40,000 strong. The eventual strength is to be 70,000. Although these men have been trained in modern police methods, which had not been used before in Iraq, some have gone back to their old ways (brutality and demanding bribes.) The coalition troops have been catching and dismissing corrupt cops, and this is discouraging other police from returning to the old ways. The "retraining" course is only three weeks long, but this also serves as a screening process. Many trainees do not finish the training, but are dismissed as unsuitable for police work. 

The experience gained from the police training effort is going to be applied to recruit and train up to 50,000 paramilitary security troops. These would be used to back up the police and provide armed guards for key facilities and high crime neighborhoods. Former soldiers would be recruited into this force. 

 

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