Iraqi police chief sets new tone

Gunner Spc. Adam Crowley scans the area outside his MRAP en route to Forward Operating Base Delta after a visit to the provincial police headquarters in Kut, Iraq, on Thursday.


Iraqi police chief sets new tone
By Ashley Rowland, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Wednesday, January 28, 2009

KUT, Iraq — Within hours of getting a new commander, the police headquarters of Wasit province was getting a face-lift. Walls were repainted, trash was picked up off the dusty roads, and the Iraqi police officers even started wearing their uniforms properly.

The changes were even more noticeable six days later, when a convoy of U.S. military police made a routine visit to the compound in Kut, the largest city in this predominantly Shiite province.

"It’s a complete transformation," said Staff Sgt. Thomas Heuer, of the 511th Military Police Company.

Maj. Gen. Ra’id Shaker Jawdak, the new provincial director of police, ordered the changes after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appointed him to replace the former director of police.

According to a memo from al-Maliki, the previous commander, Maj. Gen. Abdul Haneen al-Amara, failed to uphold the country’s election laws. Some of his officers allegedly tore down a candidate’s election posters in December, although they may have been removing posters that were covering other posters, said Col. Richard Francey, commander of Forward Operating Base Delta, the hub of the U.S. military presence in Wasit province, southeast of Baghdad.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60290