12.1 |
Security Sector Reform
693.
Gen Casey
stated that implementation of the strategy would “vary across
Iraq
based on
the security situation and the readiness of Iraqi security forces
and Ministries”.
Beginning
on 28 January 2005, two days before the election, Iraqi authorities
implemented
curfews,
imposed severe restrictions on traffic, closed Iraq’s borders and
banned the
carrying of
weapons by civilians.631
Approximately
130,000 ISF personnel secured over
5,000
polling sites throughout the country.
Reflecting
on the election in a telephone call with President Bush on 31
January, Mr Blair
said it was
encouraging that so many ISF had reported for duty over the
weekend, but
the problem
remained that they were not able to cope with “big battle
situations” against
a
well‑armed and motivated enemy.632
They lacked
the necessary training and leadership.
The key
question remained whether they could “take over, hold and run a
major city”.
On 3
February, the JIC assessed:
“On
election day, the Iraqi security forces reportedly performed
effectively at
static
guarding duties. But overall, their operational performance
continues to be
inadequate,
particularly in Sunni Arab areas.” 633
The Iraqi
elections passed smoothly in MND(SE) with the GOC commenting that
“the
ISF needed
our help but their momentum gathered. They had the courage to
stand up
and be
counted.”634
For the
elections, Provincial Joint Operations Centres were
established
in MND(SE) to improve co‑ordination between different security
elements.
Maj Gen Riley
described them as “a crucial element in the security system that
managed
election‑day security”.
694.
On 21 February
2005, the FCO produced a paper for the AHMGIR (on
24 February)
on UK support to civil policing in Iraq.635
Drawing on
the “Strategy for
2005” and
the Luck Review, it contained proposals for a greater focus at the
national
level where
there was “an urgent need for an Iraqi national policing strategy,
supported
by an
appropriate training syllabus to address established weaknesses”.
There
were
56,900 IPS officers now trained and equipped but there was
still a need for the
development
of leadership, technical capabilities, forensics, crime scene
management
and
investigative techniques.
631
Wright DP
& Reese TR. On Point
II: Transition to the New Campaign – The United States Army
in
Operation
IRAQI FREEDOM May 2003 – January 2005. Combined
Studies Institute Press, June 2008.
632
Letter
Phillipson to Adams, 31 January 2005, ‘Prime Minister’s discussion
with President Bush,
31 January:
Iraq and MEPP’.
633
JIC
Assessment, 3 February 2005, ‘Iraq: Insurgency and
Counter‑Insurgency’.
634
Report
Farquhar, 2 February 2005, ‘CG MND(SE) – Southern Iraq Update – 2
February 2005’.
635
Note FCO,
21 February 2005, ‘Iraq – UK Support to Civil Policing in Iraq –
2005’.
209