U.S. Marine: Iraqi Police Stronger in '06

[Barrett808]

U.S. Marine: Iraqi Police Stronger in '06
By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer

WASHINGTON - Local Iraqi police forces will be re-established this year in cities and towns across restive Anbar province, where the insurgency had prevented it earlier, a senior American commander said Friday.

Marine Maj. Gen. Stephen Johnson, the commander of Multi-National Forces-West, said in an interview with reporters at the Pentagon that this will be part of a broad strategy for bringing greater stability to western Iraq, bolstering Iraqis' confidence in their new government and undermining the insurgency.

If successful, the addition of local police also would lessen the security burden on U.S. troops, who are training Iraqi security forces across the country so U.S. forces can begin to leave this year.

"The reintroduction of a professional police force in Anbar will provide local leaders with security and stability that they need to take care of their own," he said over a satellite video link from his headquarters in Iraq. "These police will start to be introduced over the coming months in conjunction with the completion of their training."

(more)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060107/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_iraq

[Warren Stupidity]

1. Translation:

We will be arming the insurgents who will be pretending to be the police force in sunni towns.

[pfitz59]

2. Ditto......

Same thing in Vietnam. Police by day, "freedom fighters" by night. (I'm tired of the term 'insurgents'. Suggests legitimacy to our puppet government in Iraq!)