Italian police to train Iraqi National Police

20 Jul 07
Spc. Emily Greene
Combined Press Information Center.

BAGHDAD — Italian Army Maj. Gen. Alessandro Pompegnani, Deputy Commander of NATO Training Mission-Iraq spoke about his country’s efforts to help train the Iraqi National Police at a press conference at the Combined Press Information Center Thursday.

Since 1814 the Arma dei Carabinieri (Force of Carabinieri) has ensured the rights of the Italian people, both at home and abroad. The Carabinieri are Italian military police whose mission is to control the crime and to serve the community through respect for the Law.

Now the Carabinieri will share their training techniques with the Iraqi National Police as part of the efforts of the NATO Training Mission in Iraq.

“The Gendarmeria-type training provided by the Carabinieri will help establish the Iraqi National Police as a professional military police force, filling the gap between the police and the armed forces,” said Pompegnani.

This will not be the first time the Carabinieri have worked with the Iraqi National Police. In 2005 they helped train a specialized police unit at the regional police level in Nasiriyah.

“The training will build on the very effective basic training that the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team (CPATT) already provides for the national police since 2004,” said Pompegnani. “It is not intended to replace that training in any way, it is a specialization that builds upon the basis that CPATT has laid and continues to provide for the national police.”

Pompegnani said the Carabinieri have a two-year plan to train Iraqi National Police leadership. Eight battalions of national police will train at Camp Dublin, close to the Baghdad International Airport. Each course will last three months and will initially be staffed by about 40 Carabinieri in training and support roles, he said.

The training will focus primarily on counterinsurgency methods and forensic investigation to help the Iraqi Police fight the terrorism they are faced with daily said Pompegnani.

“The national police can connect with the public in a way that armed forces cannot and the NATO Training Mission in Iraq considers that the training the Carabinieri provides will help build the Iraqi people’s trust in the national police,” Pompegnani said.

Currently there is an advance planning team in Baghdad which is working with the Iraqi National Police authorities to adapt the European Gendarmerie training model to the needs of the Iraqis, said Pompegnani.

“The NATO Training Mission in Iraq has had success in helping build up leadership training for the Iraqi Armed Forces and is committed to support the Iraqi National Police training to its fulfillment,” Pompegnani said.

Photo - Italian Army Maj. Gen. Alessandro Pompegnani, Deputy Commander of NATO Training Mission-Iraq speaks about the Carabinieri training to be provided to the Iraqi National Police at the Combined Press Information Center. Photo by Sgt. Sky Laron.

The Caliphate or the United States?

Cross-posted at Rosemary's Thoughts.

I have been banning all Iranian products into my house since 1979. Here is a group now that is asking you to do the same. Actually, they are asking for a little more.

Ask President Bush, today, to impose strict economic sanctions against Iran’s import of refined petroleum products. Iran, one of the world’s largest producers of crude oil, lacks the facilities to produce a refined product. As a result, Iran is one of the largest importers of gasoline – nearly half of all gasoline used by Iranians. Now, the Iranians are feeling the pinch of raised prices and gasoline rationing imposed by the government.

A bipartisan group in the U.S. House is seeking economic sanctions against Iran in an attempt to reduce the amount of gasoline imported by Tehran.

The legislation calls for companies that provide Iran with gasoline or assists with the import of gasoline would not be allowed to sell gasoline to U.S. customers. Iran imports most of its gasoline from Persian Gulf states and India.

According to Rep. Mark S. Kirk, R-IL: "This is becoming the critical weakness of the Iranian government, meaning its dependence on gasoline. Riots [in Iran] show the gasoline shortage is a growing danger to the Iranian regime and a diplomatic opportunity for Western countries to force Iran to adhere to international nuclear rules."

The legislation would provide President Bush with several options, as well as several penalties. Included among these are: denial of loans and credits from the Export-Import bank and loans or licenses for exports to the U.S. [Um...I thought we already had this?] The House Foreign Affairs Committee has already approved “legislation designed to strike at investments in Iran.” State Department spokesman Tom Casey said, "We need to do everything that we can to continue to raise the stakes in Iran in terms of its nuclear program."

Another supporter of the bill, Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., said, “Our goal must be zero foreign investment.” To reach that end, the U.S. is also working with European allies to try to increase penalties against Tehran. Of course, the countries that do a lucrative business with Iran don’t want to do anything to upset the powers that be.

Vote Your Opinion NOW!

Just as we have defeated big business here in America (NO illegal aliens!), we must bring to the light our European 'friends'. We must explain to them, in a calm way, that there are higher ideals in this life than how much money you can grab. This is one of them.

Unless you want all of your women living under the Caliphate, which means clothed from head to toe with no skin showing, you must be with us on this. There truly is a war against us. It is to elimate everyone who does not believe as they do, Sharia Law, their idea of what a Muslim should be, and many more horrific things.

If you want to understand more, you may be interested in this book:

The Final Move Beyond Iraq.

Thank you.

Bush, Scheffer Discuss NATO Issues in Texas Meeting

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service.

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2007 – NATO operations in Afghanistan, transformation of the alliance and missile defense in Europe topped the agenda as President Bush met with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in Crawford, Texas, today.

Bush called Scheffer a strong advocate for fighting terror, spreading freedom, helping the oppressed and modernizing NATO. The two men held a joint news conference at the Bush ranch.

Afghanistan dominated the discussions. NATO forces are helping provide security to a nation of 25 million. Afghanistan was a haven for al Qaeda, and Taliban terrorists want to regain control. Bush thanked the secretary-general for ensuring that NATO commanders have the forces they need to defeat the Taliban extremists.

“I pledged to the secretary-general, we'll work with our NATO allies to convince them that they must share more of the burden and must all share the risks in meeting our goal,” the president said.

Scheffer stressed the moral aspect of the operations in Afghanistan.

“Afghanistan is still one of the front lines in our fight against terrorism,” he said. “And it is my strong conviction that that front line should not become a fault line.”

Some have criticized NATO for excessive civilian casualties resulting from its operations. “I know and you know that at any price NATO forces and coalition forces will try to avoid civilian casualties,” Scheffer said. “We'll do that, and we'll look very seriously into that.”

“But let me tell you one thing,” he continued. “We are not in the same moral category as our opponents, as the Taliban in Afghanistan. We don't behead people, we don't burn schools, we don't kill teachers, we don't plant roadside bombs, we don't send in suicide bombers. And if we talk about innocent Afghan civilians, yes, dramatically the result of our military actions could be that civilians -- innocent civilians -- are killed. But look at the number of Afghan civilians killed by the Taliban and by our opposing forces. In brief, we are not in the same moral category there, and that's, I think, a very important mission.”

Bush said Afghanistan requires more than simple military force. He and the secretary-general discussed a long-term comprehensive strategy to help strengthen Afghanistan's democratic institutions and to help create economic opportunities that will help the country survive and thrive.

NATO has grown well beyond its roots as a Cold War institution, Bush said. The alliance needs to continue to change to handle the security threats of the 21st century. “We talked about the need to have more special operations forces and strategic airlift capabilities,” he said.

Bush and Scheffer spoke about NATO enlargement and looked ahead to the 2008 NATO Summit in Bucharest.

“I pledged to the secretary-general that I'll work with nations that are interested in becoming a part of NATO over the next year to make sure they meet the requirements necessary for a country to be accepted into NATO,” he said.

Bush said that many nations in NATO recognize the ballistic missile threat from rogue states. “I appreciate the fact that the secretary-general agrees that U.S. missile defense plans complement NATO efforts to keep all nations safe from attack,” he said. Bush also said he will use the NATO forum to continue to reach out to Russia.