Published: January 11, 2006
Bush Says Iraqi Forces Will Control Majority of Country in 2006
By Rebecca Ford Mitchell, Washington File
President describes programs to increase Iraqi security capabilities
The United States will pursue a security strategy that puts Iraqi forces in control of more territory than coalition forces by the end of 2006, says President Bush.
Speaking to the Veterans of Foreign Wars January 10, Bush described new programs under way to accelerate the training of various Iraqi police, which, he said, lag behind the country's army in training and capabilities.
The Iraq Interior Ministry's special police, the president said, are almost at full strength with about 19,000 trained and equipped law enforcement officers, though recent allegations of abuse by some of these forces against Iraqi citizens is unacceptable.
"We must ensure that the police understand that their mission is to serve the cause of a free Iraq, not to address old grievances by taking justice into their own hands," Bush said.
The coalition is working with the Iraqi government to increase training for these police in human rights, the rule of law and the role of police in a democratic society, Bush said. He also announced the establishment of a new police ethics and leadership institute in Baghdad, the creation of uniform lesson plans in professional ethics for all Iraq police academies and a program in which U.S. police battalions will partner with Iraqi special police battalions to improve capabilities and professionalism.
There are currently about 18,000 Iraqi border police. The goal is to train and equip 10,000 more to take responsibility for all their country's borders sometime this year, Bush said. A new customs academy has been set up in Basra, he said, and transition teams of coalition soldiers and U.S. customs experts, working with Iraqi border units, are being established.
The president said that the 80,000 local station police need the most assistance to increase their numbers to 135,000 and their capabilities through training. Teams of U.S. military police, retired U.S. police officers and international police liaisons are partnering with Iraqi police stations to improve their training and effectiveness, he said, adding that the program will focus on nine key cities where battles against terrorists have been intense.
Speaking more broadly about Iraq's future, Bush said Iraqis face real challenges, not only from the damage caused by Saddam Hussein's destructive economic and infrastructure policies, but from "acts of sabotage by the enemies of a free Iraq." As the people of Iraq have gained confidence that their own security forces can defeat these enemies, they are providing exponentially more intelligence against the terrorists, Bush said.
"The advance of freedom is destroying his [Abu Musab al-Zarqawi] and al Qaida's greatest myth: these terrorists are not fighting on behalf of the Iraqi people against a foreign occupation, they are fighting the will of the Iraqi people expressed in free elections," he said.
Bush said there will continue to be political turmoil in 2006 as Iraqi leaders jockey for power in the new government.
He praised greater Sunni participation in the political process and reminded the Shi'a and Kurds that "the promise of democracy begins with free elections and majority rule but it is fulfilled by minority rights and equal justice and an inclusive society in which every person belongs."
"A country that divides into factions and dwells on old grievances cannot move forward and risks sliding back into tyranny," the president said. "Compromise and consensus and power-sharing are the only path to national unity and lasting democracy, and ultimately the success of Iraqi democracy will come when political divisions in Iraw are driven, not by sectarian rivalries, but by ideas and convictions and a common vision for the future."
A transcript the president's speech and related fact sheet are available on the White House Web site.
Source: U.S. Department of State
Search News
