Within Iraq, the failure of the police to restore order and prevent
militia infiltration is due, in part, to the poor organization of
Iraq's component police forces: the Iraqi National Police, the Iraqi
Border Police, and the Iraqi Police Service.
The Iraqi National Police pursue a mission that is more military than
domestic in nature--involving commando-style operations--and is thus
ill-suited to the Ministry of the Interior. The more natural home for
the National Police is within the Ministry of Defense, which should be
the authority for counterinsurgency operations and heavily armed
forces. Though depriving the Ministry of the Interior of operational
forces, this move will place the Iraqi National Police under better
and more rigorous Iraqi and U.S. supervision and will enable these
units to better perform their counterinsurgency mission.
RECOMMENDATION 50: The entire Iraqi National Police should be
transferred to the Ministry of Defense, where the police commando
units will become part of the new Iraqi Army.
Similarly, the Iraqi Border Police are charged with a role that bears
little resemblance to ordinary policing, especially in light of the
current flow of foreign fighters, insurgents, and weaponry across
Iraq's borders and the need for joint patrols of the border with
foreign militaries. Thus the natural home for the Border Police is
within the Ministry of Defense, which should be the authority for
controlling Iraq's borders.
RECOMMENDATION 51: The entire Iraqi Border Police should be
transferred to the Ministry of Defense, which would have total
responsibility for border control and external security.
The Iraqi Police Service, which operates in the provinces and provides
local policing, needs to become a true police force. It needs legal
authority, training, and equipment to control crime and protect Iraqi
citizens. Accomplishing those goals will not be easy, and the presence
of American advisors will be required to help the Iraqis determine a
new role for the police.
RECOMMENDATION 52: The Iraqi Police Service should be given greater
responsibility to conduct criminal investigations and should expand
its cooperation with other elements in the Iraqi judicial system in
order to better control crime and protect Iraqi civilians.
In order to more effectively administer the Iraqi Police Service, the
Ministry of the Interior needs to undertake substantial reforms to
purge bad elements and highlight best practices. Once the ministry
begins to function effectively, it can exert a positive influence over
the provinces and take back some of the authority that was lost to
local governments through decentralization. To reduce corruption and
militia infiltration, the Ministry of the Interior should take
authority from the local governments for the handling of policing
funds. Doing so will improve accountability and organizational
discipline, limit the authority of provincial police officials, and
identify police officers with the central government.
RECOMMENDATION 53: The Iraqi Ministry of the Interior should undergo a
process of organizational transformation, including efforts to expand
the capability and reach of the current major crime unit (or Criminal
Investigation Division) and to exert more authority over local police
forces. The sole authority to pay police salaries and disburse
financial support to local police should be transferred to the
Ministry of the Interior.
Finally, there is no alternative to bringing the Facilities Protection
Service under the control of the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior.
Simply disbanding these units is not an option, as the members will
take their weapons and become full-time militiamen or insurgents. All
should be brought under the authority of a reformed Ministry of the
Interior. They will need to be vetted, retrained, and closely
supervised. Those who are no longer part of the Facilities Protection
Service need to participate in a disarmament, demobilization, and
reintegration program (outlined above).
RECOMMENDATION 54: The Iraqi Ministry of the Interior should proceed
with current efforts to identify, register, and control the Facilities
Protection Service.