Pat Dollard | Young Americans

Baghdad, Sept 7, (VOI)- Iraqi Interior Ministry described on Friday the report presented by the retired Marine Gen. James Jones to the Congress, in which he called for dissolving the Iraqi police, as “retarded”, underlining that it tackled most of the negative points listed in the report and sacked thousands of “corrupted elements”.

The Director of the National Command Center in the ministry General Abdul Karim Khalaf said “thousands of corrupted policemen have been sacked recently,” describing the report presented earlier this week to the U.S. Congress by retired Marine Gen. James Jones as “retarded” and seems speaking about the period that preceded measures taken by the ministry.

“The new recruitments in the ministry are now being done according to regulations and tough orders,” Khalaf added.

“One of the conditions provided is that the policeman should be not a member of a political party or a religious movement,” the Iraqi general added.

“The interior ministry is for all Iraqis and it does not deal only with a certain group or community. Its main target is to achieve security and stability throughout Iraq,” he explained.
The ministry official also referred to duties assumed by Iraqi police forces alongside with The U.S. troops saying “police forces sometimes back the U.S. troops in some operations.”

An independent commission set up by U.S. Congress strongly recommended both downsizing U.S. forces in Iraq and changing their mission. The 20-member commission was headed by retired Marine Gen. James Jones.

The U.S. general, who once commanded NATO forces, took the lead in presenting the panel’s conclusions to the Senate Armed Services Committee. Jones offered a mostly upbeat take on the Iraqi security forces.

The report is much more critical of the country’s national police force. It says “the Shiite-controlled force should be disbanded immediately.”