A Thin Blue Line in the Sand

[Jedburgh]

USIP, 4 Aug 09: Iraq's Interior Ministry: The Key to Police Reform

....Police are the first line of defense and the most visible face of the government to the population. The Iraqi police are supervised, administered and trained by the Ministry of Interior (MOI), a massive institution that does not have a U.S. parallel. MOI’s responsibilities in addition to supporting Iraq’s police forces include protection of government facilities, border control, tribal affairs, and immigration and passport regulation. Currently, the MOI is the largest employer in the country. Success in reforming the ministry and improving the quality of its personnel and procedures has ramifications that go beyond merely improving levels of security.....

[Jedburgh]

USIP, 18 Oct 11: The Iraq Federal Police: U.S. Police Building under Fire

This report chronicles U.S. efforts to train and equip an indigenous constabulary force to control insurgent and militia violence in Iraq. The United States does not have constabulary forces. In earlier conflicts, the United States called upon the United Nations or European allies to provide a gendarmerie. In Iraq, the UN police forces that were a feature of peace operations in the Balkans were not available, leaving the United States with only one option—to develop an Iraqi constabulary force under fire.