Yikes. AMERICAblog finds a startling comparison: it takes seven days of training to become a Starbucks barista. It takes just eight to become an Iraqi cop.
Well, not exactly a cop. A backup cop, part of an Anbar “provincial security force.” You see, there aren’t enough police academies in which to train police recruits properly, so the thousands of extra men who seek the uniform head out to dusty back lots with U.S. Marines and run obstacles courses for little over a week. When they’re done, they keep the uniform and gun, do security operations occasionally, and wait until they get called for real police training.
Now this may come as a surprise, but this rigorous process isn’t exactly inspiring confidence or creating a trustworthy police force. The governor of the province in which this is occurring says the police are unreliable and operate with their own agendas. Prime Minister Maliki is complaining that the Americans are artificially inflating the Iraqi police corps. Even American forces can see we’re just arming random people, and possibly creating bigger problems than the ones we hope to solve.
