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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Cticis warn of plan to sack 30,000 Iraqi police |
| 2004-08-23 |
| Not really sure if "Cticis" is a UK acronym or a tpyo. AS MANY as 30,000 members of Iraq's new police force are to lose their jobs in a radical shake-up aimed at weeding out troublemakers and officers considered unsuitable for employment. A $60 million (£33 million) fund has been set aside by the interim government in Iraq to pay off the sacked police officers, with the axe due to fall at the end of this month. They will receive an average pay-off of $2,000 (£1,100). But critics of the plan in Iraq say that it risks repeating the mistakes made when the Iraqi army was disbanded after the end of the war in 2003, when 400,000 disaffected soldiers were turned on to the streets with no source of income. Many joined the insurgency against the coalition forces. Yesterday, one senior Iraqi officer, Major Basim Mahmoud Hameed, warned that the same could happen again if police officers are dismissed from their jobs. "It is about their loyalty. Some of them are loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr. They are wearing police uniforms and when we need them to be on our side they are on the side of Sadr or with the terrorists in Fallujah," he said. "If we get rid of 3,000 or 30,000 there will be people who will go to them. If the terrorists put them on their side there will be 30,000 Iraqis who are well-trained, can use weapons and we will create 30,000 enemies to us." Hmmm. Major Hameed - an aide to Brigadier Andrew Mackay, the Scottish officer given the task of training the new Iraqi police force - believes a better option would be to send the 30,000 unwanted officers on a new training programme |
| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #7 I say retain them but reassign them to building an 'Autobahn' or some other public works project. Let 'em hump wheelbarrows to earn a paycheck while loyal cops fight crime. |
| Posted by: JDB 2004-08-23 10:30:38 PM |
| #6 Its a typo. For the busy among us, its meant to be "Critics." |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2004-08-23 3:26:53 PM |
| #5 So - hold on - it's better to keep the traitors in our ranks, than to kick them out on the street? Ah, it's that old Arab wisdom in play. Y'know - "Hold your friends close, but your enemies closer"? |
| Posted by: Pappy 2004-08-23 1:45:02 AM |
| #4 Reality check: Look at the many ways that Mexico has benefited from having a skilled police force which is rarely subjected to review or vetting. One word: Federales I realize that we are in the midst of "draining the swamp." But of what use is it if we continue to arm the 'gators? As the dismissed officers are shown the door, a sweet whisper in their ear should make mention of how they will be shown the wall, and not a jail cell door, should they be caught breaking the law with their newfound skills. This is why we properly disbanded the Iraqi army and why this shakeup of the police is needed as well. We have already paid for the army's RIF with our soldiers' blood. How many more casualties should be deemed acceptable before we weed out the turncoats and traitors from within the ranks of these "steenkin' badges?" |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-08-23 1:17:24 AM |
| #3 Ctisis, I think that's what you can get when you cut yourself on broken glass. |
| Posted by: BH 2004-08-23 1:11:15 AM |
| #2 Or join the asshats... |
| Posted by: .com 2004-08-23 12:48:47 AM |
| #1 So - hold on - it's better to keep the traitors in our ranks, than to kick them out on the street? Get a clue, having them as police simply makes the problem worse, they'll tip off the enemy about security plans, and they'll be nowhere in the vicinity when car bombs go off at police stations. |
| Posted by: gromky 2004-08-23 12:42:58 AM |