U.S.-backed Iraqi police get just 8 days of training.
By on Jun 21st, 2007 at 12:30 pm
U.S.-backed Iraqi police get just 8 days of training.
U.S. officials have stepped up training of Iraqi police militias in Anbar province to support U.S. forces. The militias are frequently “unreliable and operate with their own agendas,” critics say, and some have been implicated in attacks on U.S. forces and Iraqis. But that should come as little surprise. NPR reports that the forces “get only eight days of training and at the end of it, they get to keep their gun and their uniform.”
UPDATE: John Aravosis notes that it takes seven days of training to serve as a Starbucks barista.
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and bullets come when they sign up for the advanced training course….
June 21st, 2007 at 12:33 pmWhat’s Iraqi for, “Barney Fife”?
June 21st, 2007 at 12:33 pmI suppose you could teach someone to ’stand up’ and even sit down again in 8 days….. my dog figured it out.
June 21st, 2007 at 12:34 pmThat is, if they live 8 days after signing up to be a policeman…..
June 21st, 2007 at 12:35 pmThis is a little misleading. If you listen to the NPR piece, they talk about the need to train police, but the simple fact that the academy in Anbar can’t keep up with demand, they’ve created a Police Reserve of sorts made up of members of the tribal militias. These reservists get an orientation basically, which is the 8 day training mentioned. It’s NOT saying “all Iraqi police only get 8 days of training.”
June 21st, 2007 at 12:36 pm“get only eight days of training and at the end of it, they get to keep their gun and their uniform.â€
For which they promptly throw the uniform away, and use the gun to kill Americans.
June 21st, 2007 at 12:37 pmYeah, well, let’s just say that these fellas don’t need a whole lotta time mastering firearms.
I actually think that backing up local forces that are fighting Al Qaeda is a good idea. If it screws up the “strong central government that is democratic and a U.S. ally” project, so what? That effort is doomed anyway.
But let’s be honest here – this isn’t “training police.” This is equipping local forces.
June 21st, 2007 at 12:37 pmI don’t understand why it takes these people 8 days to learn to say “I want to Thank America for getting rid of Sadam” and “I love George Bush”.
June 21st, 2007 at 12:44 pmBut let’s be honest here – this isn’t “training police.†This is equipping local forces.
Comment by joe — June 21, 2007 @ 12:37 pm
The same local forces that were shooting at Coalition forces from 2003 -2006? How does anyone know?
June 21st, 2007 at 12:44 pmI’m surprised anyone wants to be a policeman in Iraq. They may be quite brave, or simply desperate.
June 21st, 2007 at 12:45 pmstand up quick,…. but will they roll over?
June 21st, 2007 at 12:46 pmHow’s your head this morning Zoo?
June 21st, 2007 at 12:46 pmDoes this count the Shi’ite death squad training they get from President Maliki, or is that extra?
June 21st, 2007 at 12:50 pm“The same local forces that were shooting at Coalition forces from 2003 -2006? How does anyone know?
Comment by TerrytheTurtle — June 21, 2007 @ 12:44 pm”
Yep.
Personally, I never bought into the “everyone in Iraq who is shooting at American forces is a terrorist like Mohammed Atta” BS. Heck, if I was a Sunni Iraqi living in Anbar, I’d have spent those years shooting at Americans, too.
There is a small group of foreign jihadists in Iraq, and there is a much larger group of Sunni nationalists and tribalists who just plain don’t like a bunch of furrners coming into their country and blowing stuff up. Think of Anbar as “Red Iraq,” and these people as the Mesopotamian version of the goobers who put NRA stickers on their trucks.
Right now, the furrners they are the most angrly at are the jihadists.
June 21st, 2007 at 12:52 pm#13,
No, this is Anbar Provice. Full of Sunnis, and very little presence from the Malaki government.
June 21st, 2007 at 12:53 pmNow let’s see the Iraq military gets paid don’t show up or give information to the enemy. With the Bush plan the Iraq soldiers can get US soldiers killed in larger numbers. We’re looking at maybe 200 soldiers killed in June.
June 21st, 2007 at 12:53 pmIt’s no surprise that the Iraq troops get only 8 days training as the Bush Administration only take unqualified employees and appointees anyway.
Americans really aren’t interested in how many of our soldiers are killed their more interested in American Idol. So as thousands of more soldiers are sit up like sitting ducks and picked off Bush/Americans will stay the course.
Personally, I never bought into the “everyone in Iraq who is shooting at American forces is a terrorist like Mohammed Atta†BS. Heck, if I was a Sunni Iraqi living in Anbar, I’d have spent those years shooting at Americans, too.
Agreed – still a highly risky strategy to arm Baathist insurgents to fight against foreigners. If the foreign fighters give up – who are they going to shoot at next? Nationalist’s like to have their nations to themselves…
June 21st, 2007 at 12:58 pmJackie,
I assure you, Anbar tribesmen are perfectly qualified to fight against other small bands of gunmen.
They’ve been doing it for 6000 years.
June 21st, 2007 at 12:59 pmNo, this is Anbar Provice. Full of Sunnis, and very little presence from the Malaki government.
Comment by joe — June 21, 2007 @ 12:53 pm
Oh, my bad… So they’re trained by the IAI instead?
June 21st, 2007 at 1:00 pmTerry the Turtle,
I don’t think “Baathist” is an accurate description. These hillbillies out in the western sticks were absolutely not in bed with the Saddam regime. If this was Mexico, they’d be the Zapatistas, not the PRI, if you follow.
“If the foreign fighters give up – who are they going to shoot at next?”
June 21st, 2007 at 1:03 pmAbsolutely, I agree. This is something we should be doing instead of trying to impose a client government and pacify the country, not alongside those things.
wow, now THAT’S some vetting process. Couple that with the FACT that we are funding and arming the insurgents too–
June 21st, 2007 at 1:05 pmand George W Bush becomes the character Michael Richards used to play in skits on a short-lived show called “Fridays”–
remember–the goofy dude who played with toy soldiers?
How’s your head this morning Zoo?
Comment by TerrytheTurtle
Still attached and feeling fabulous!!
That’s probably not a good thing, all things considered…. :)
June 21st, 2007 at 1:05 pmAnbar tribesmen are perfectly qualified to fight against other small bands of gunmen.
They’ve been doing it for 6000 years.
Comment by joe
Wow, that means they’ve been defeating gunmen since before there were … guns.
Amazing.
June 21st, 2007 at 1:05 pm.
toasterhead,
Who is the “IAI?” Al Qaeda in Iraq?
Anyway, they’re trained by their local tribal leaders and older relatives, starting when they’re little kids. They’re tribesmen in an isolated, sparsely-populated rural area.
June 21st, 2007 at 1:06 pmUPDATE: John Aravosis notes that it takes seven days of training to serve as a Starbucks barista.
I’d rather be a barista….
June 21st, 2007 at 1:06 pmGMT,
Har har har.
June 21st, 2007 at 1:07 pmAnd the training is reduced in a single phrase: “stand in front of USA possessions (this includes soldiers) and stop bullets with your own body”
June 21st, 2007 at 1:12 pmComment by joe — June 21, 2007 @ 1:03 pm
Fair comment. As long as even Hilary Clinton blames the victims (the Iraqis by way of their puppet government), nothing will change.
June 21st, 2007 at 1:21 pmU.S. air strike misses target, wounds 11 civilians
the only difference between a stealth bomber and a suicide bomber is
a stealth bomber kills more civilians and then goes home for supper
June 21st, 2007 at 1:23 pm8 days of training to an Iraqi is like 2 years training for a dumb marine
June 21st, 2007 at 1:27 pmBlurpy,
You’re not fooling anyone, you know.
Have you noticed that no one is agreeing with you?
June 21st, 2007 at 1:42 pm