Iraqi PM asks US for help to train police forces

Prime Minister Haider al Abadi of Iraq privately asked US Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter this week for additional help training Iraqi police forces used to secure cities that have been retaken from Daesh, the New York Times quoted senior US Defense Department officials as saying.

The request opens the door for the United States and other countries — particularly Italy, which has expertise in police training — to become more involved in assisting the Iraqis.

Abadi told Carter that even the minimal training the police forces had received significantly enhanced their ability to maintain control of the city of Ramadi, which the Iraqi government reclaimed last month, the officials said.

The newly trained police forces have held the city well enough that some of Iraq’s most capable military forces, which captured the city, have been able to leave Ramadi sooner than expected and take on new missions, said one of the Defense Department officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the conversation on bilateral security.

Carter and Abadi discussed the additional training in a private meeting on Friday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Carter told Abadi that he agreed with the importance of expanding police training, and that he would work with other members of the international coalition to defeat Daesh to accelerate it, the officials said.

However, it is not clear whether the United States, Italy or any other member of the coalition will send additional troops to train the police in support of Iraq’s fight against Daesh.

The request from Abadi comes as Carter and other Obama administration officials try to convince a weary American public that they have an adequate plan to defeat Daesh — one that can succeed without reintroducing large numbers of American ground forces to Iraq.

Source: MENA