The Report
of the Iraq Inquiry
710.
On the
insurgency, Lt Gen Kiszely assessed:
“The high
level of intimidation has been the insurgency’s biggest gain of the
past
six months
and, helped by a weak, incompetent and corrupt police force, has
led
in many
Sunni areas to a complete absence of law and order – in effect,
anarchy.
Initially
intimidation was used by the insurgency to gain control of cities
and towns,
the
favoured method being to capture and execute (blindfold, hands tied
behind
back)
anyone who stood in the way of the insurgents or who was associated
with
the
coalition or the government. In one city (Mosul) in one five
week‑period (from
12 November
to 19 December) the bodies of 220 victims executed in this
way
were found,
and in one single incident (Baquba, 23 October) a busload of 50
army
trainees
were similarly murdered.”
“In the
past six months, INIS has been somewhat discredited in the eyes of
both the
IIG and the
coalition due to evidence of incompetence, corruption and
penetration
by hostile
agencies, both Iraqi and external … this is an area ripe for UK
advice
and input.”
712.
On 15 May
2005, DCC Smith produced a report of his review of UK
policing
support to
the development of the IPS.649
His report
described UK efforts in both
Baghdad and
Basra; those recommendations relating to policing specifically in
MND(SE)
are
described later in this Section.
713.
DCC Smith
observed a weakening of UK influence in Baghdad. Following the
Luck
Review, the
US was increasing resource for police training at a rate that the
UK was
unable to
match. He also reported that the “UK inability to ‘walk the talk’
and tendency to
write long,
strategic doctrinal papers … has been interpreted by the US as
typical British
procrastination”.
714.
DCC Smith
recommended targeting UK resources on a number of priority areas
to
increase
influence at a strategic level in Baghdad. They
included:
•
the
strategic development of the IPS – “there are currently no
resources, except
myself,
dedicated to this key activity”;
•
intelligence
and crime investigation, including forensics, identified as “one of
the
few areas
where the UK still has a foothold”, thanks, in part to the
introduction of
the TIPS
scheme (described below); and
•
continuing
the Police Centre of Excellence – staffed primarily by
Canadians,
this was
described as “a small resource but a disproportionate influence
[which]
helps to
‘fly the flag’ for policing in a land dominated by the
Military”.
649
Paper
Smith, 15 May 2005, ‘Next Steps on Policing – Review’.
214