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On Baghdad Beat, Policeman Dodges Bombs, Turncoats
Imagine a Mafia that is tens of thousands strong, has heavy weapons and an intelligence service and is not afraid of killing government workers with their entire families. This is what Iraqi cops (and soldiers) face on a daily basis.Every morning before he goes to work, Iraqi police officer Ahmad Ibrahim puts on an elaborate hoax. Mr. Ibrahim folds his dark-blue uniform inside out and places it in a canvas gym bag along with his gun and badge, taking care to cover the items with loose clothing and towels. He puts a yellow "Taxi" sign on his car and pretends to look for fares as he drives circuitously to the police station. He parks in a spot that isn't visible from the street and changes into his uniform in his office. At the end of each day, he reverses the process. Mr. Ibrahim has gone through the charade since receiving a death threat from Iraq's most notorious terrorist late last year. He took it seriously. He has known more than 20 police officers who have been killed in insurgent attacks, including two young recruits who died next to him when their car was wrecked by a remotely detonated roadside bomb. Last month, Mr. Ibrahim got into a shootout with a turncoat police officer stealing weapons for the insurgents. The Bush administration's hopes for reducing American troop levels next year increasingly depend on the abilities of Iraqi security personnel such as Mr. Ibrahim. The U.S. has made building a capable new police force a top priority, shifting $1.8 billion originally allocated for reconstruction to the effort. American and Iraqi officials have developed an intensive new program that teams Iraqi police commanders with U.S. officers. American military-police units oversee many Iraqi police stations, helping train officers and plan missions. Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-08-26 |
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