U.S. ActionsThe Iraqi criminal justice system is weak, and the U.S. training mission has been
hindered by a lack of clarity and capacity. It has not always been clear who is in
charge of the police training mission, and the U.S. military lacks expertise in certain
areas pertaining to police and the rule of law. The United States has been more suc-
cessful in training the Iraqi Army than it has the police. The U.S. Department of Jus-
tice has the expertise and capacity to carry out the police training mission. The U.S.
Department of Defense is already bearing too much of the burden in Iraq. Meanwhile,
the pool of expertise in the United States on policing and the rule of law has been
underutilized.
The United States should adjust its training mission in Iraq to match the recom-
mended changes in the Iraqi government—the movement of the National and Border
Police to the Ministry of Defense and the new emphasis on the Iraqi Police Service
within the Ministry of the Interior. To reflect the reorganization, the Department of
Defense would continue to train the Iraqi National and Border Police, and the Depart-
ment of Justice would become responsible for training the Iraqi Police Service.
RECOMMENDATION 55: The U.S. Department of Defense should continue its
mission to train the Iraqi National Police and the Iraqi Border Police, which should
be placed within the Iraqi Ministry of Defense.
RECOMMENDATION 56: The U.S. Department of Justice should direct the train-
ing mission of the police forces remaining under the Ministry of the Interior.
RECOMMENDATION 57: Just as U.S. military training teams are imbedded within
Iraqi Army units, the current practice of imbedding U.S. police trainers should be
expanded and the numbers of civilian training officers increased so that teams can
cover all levels of the Iraqi Police Service, including local police stations. These train-
ers should be obtained from among experienced civilian police executives and super-
visors from around the world. These officers would replace the military police per-
sonnel currently assigned to training teams.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has provided personnel to train the Criminal
Investigation Division in the Ministry of the Interior, which handles major crimes.
The FBI has also fielded a large team within Iraq for counterterrorism activities.
Building on this experience, the training programs should be expanded and should
include the development of forensic investigation training and facilities that could
apply scientific and technical investigative methods to counterterrorism as well as to
ordinary criminal activity.
RECOMMENDATION 58: The FBI should expand its investigative and forensic
training and facilities within Iraq, to include coverage of terrorism as well as criminal
activity.
One of the major deficiencies of the Iraqi Police Service is its lack of equipment, par-
ticularly in the area of communications and motor transport.
554 IRAQ AND THE GULF WARS