Home » Archives » "Friction with Iraqi police frustrates Fort Lewis troops"

Friction with Iraqi police frustrates Fort Lewis troops

Oct- 1-2006 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT

SEAN COCKERHAM; The News Tribune

BAGHDAD, iraq – Fort Lewis soldiers know they can’t be responsible for neighborhood security in Baghdad forever. Commanders say the war hinges on whether Iraqis do it themselves.

Iraqi police, in Baghdad at least, are part of the problem, they say: The police lack motivation and have been infiltrated by Shiite militia death squads that are helping to tear the country apart.

“The police are bad. They don’t have the trust of the people,” said Capt. Matt Pike of Lacey. “We have to get to the point where the average citizen in Ghazaliyah is willing to stop a police patrol and say, ‘Hey, check this out.’”

Soldiers from the Fort Lewis-based 1st Battalion of the 23rd Infantry Regiment operate in the Baghdad neighborhoods of Ghazaliyah and Shula. They spend a lot of time worrying about corrupt cops in both areas.

Shula police turn on their car lights when they see Fort Lewis Strykers coming into an area. Police say it is to avoid being fired upon. Soldiers think it is to warn the enemy they are coming.

Fort Lewis soldiers say not all the police are bad. They work with good cops on identifying militia members in the ranks. But identifying problem officers is one thing, and getting the police to go out and arrest them is another, they say.[...]


Advertisements