Media Exaggerate Militia Infiltration of Iraqi Police, General Says
By Mark Finkelstein
CNSNews.com Correspondent
February 08, 2007

(CNSNews.com) - The American media overstate the extent to which the Iraqi police have been infiltrated by sectarian militias, a senior U.S. military officer involved in training the Iraqis said Wednesday.

"When I see in the press [allegations of] huge numbers of militia infiltrations, that's where . . . I have a disconnect with the press and with their report[s]," U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hunzeker told Cybercast News Service.

Hunzeker heads the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team in Iraq, responsible for the recruitment and training of the Iraqi Police Service, National Police, and Department of Border Enforcement.

During a conference call from Baghdad, he voiced optimism about the sectarian divide issue, pointing to a poll conducted last November in which 89 percent of Iraqi respondents agreed with the statement: "My first loyalty is to my country rather than my sect, ethnic group, or tribe."

At the same time, however, Hunzeker acknowledged there was an ongoing problem of militia intimidation of police. He cited the example of a young policeman living in Sadr City who, asked whether he would be prepared to fight the militia, distinguished between "bad" militia who kill by night, and "good" militia who protect his family while he is on duty.

The lesson of history, Hunzeker argued, is that militias fill a security void. "Once the security forces are out in numbers, and they have the faith and confidence of the electorate and the people of Iraq, then those militias will go away."

In prepared remarks, Hunzeker said: "Before assuming command of CPATT in October 2006, I had heard many of the same stories about the state of the Iraqi police that have discouraged many people throughout the world."

These included the view that the police were corrupt, ineffective, or - most commonly - that they were "hopelessly sectarian and brutal."

"Four months into my command, I've come to realize that these warnings were more an overstatement than reality. Although there are still challenges to be overcome in the training and equipping of the [three agencies' personnel]... there are also tens of thousands of people in the Ministry of Interior and Iraqi police who are courageous, well-trained, and committed to defending all of Iraq's citizens."

Michael O'Hanlon, senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution, disagreed with Hunzeker's view on the issue of militia infiltration of the Iraqi police.

"I wish I could agree with the general, but in fact the greatest worry here is that the situation is even worse than he is suggesting," O'Hanlon told Cybercast News Service .

"It is not that militias have infiltrated security forces, it is that the militias and the security forces are in some cases almost indistinguishable."

Commenting on recent success in recruiting police trainees in Anbar province, a Sunni stronghold, Hunzeker credited the efforts of the Marine Expeditionary Force and also praised a number of tribal sheikhs -- Sunnis, significantly -- whom he said had encouraged their men to volunteer.

Whereas there had been no recruits as recently as a year ago, more than 1,000 volunteers stepped forward in December, he reported.

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