Government policy poses threat to U.S. efforts

U.S. and Iraqi officials say an additional 5,000 Iraqi police are needed in Diyala.

BAQOUBA, Iraq (AP) — A U.S. effort to recruit former Sunni insurgents north of Baghdad — considered crucial to expanding the fight against extremists — is in danger of collapse because the government has been unable or unwilling to accept the volunteers into Iraqi security forces.

The potential breakdown in Diyala — described by U.S. and Iraqi officials in interviews this week — underscores the challenges of copying the military-militia alliances that uprooted al-Qaida in Iraq and other factions from strongholds in Iraq’s western desert.

It also could threaten some of the gains of the U.S.-led security crackdown in Baghdad and surrounding areas, including the important battleground of Diyala where al-Qaida in Iraq claims the capital Baqouba as its base.

In Diyala, more than 2,200 former militants have renounced the terror network and teamed with U.S. soldiers. But American officials fear the volunteers could halt cooperation if the Iraqi government continues to deny them police jobs.

The Interior Ministry says it’s about numbers. It has capped Diyala’s force at 13,000 — which is already over the limit — meaning there is no room for the “concerned local nationals,” known as CLNs.

What’s suspected

But there are accusations that Iraq’s sectarian rifts are playing a role.

In the western province of Anbar — nearly all Sunni — there have been few problems incorporating the new allies against al-Qaida into security forces. Diyala, however, is mixed between Sunnis and Shiites. Some CLN members claim the Shiite-led government is worried about handing Sunnis too much influence and power in the province.

“I want to stop the river of blood that’s run through my neighborhood and my country, but I want to do that with recognition from the government and status as a policeman,” said Omar Abdullah, 19, who joined the CLN three months ago during a major U.S. offensive in Baqouba.

Abdullah kicked the ground in frustration outside a safe house, where the volunteers wear yellow reflective sashes marking them as U.S. allies.

The Interior Ministry did not return calls to comment.

U.S. and Iraqi officials say 5,000 more Iraqi police are needed in Diyala, one of the most dangerous parts of Iraq for U.S. and government forces. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki also endorsed the idea of incorporating the volunteers into Diyala’s security forces when he visited Baqouba in July.

“If I could, I’d hire 1,000 more CLNs in Baqouba alone, but my hands are tied,” said Gen. Ghanim al-Qureyshi, director general of Diyala police. “The central government will not give me the budget,” he added with a shrug.

About 600 ex-insurgents were hired as policemen earlier this year, before the force reached capacity, officials said.

Here’s the concern

“I worry this [tension] is going to explode, and we’ll revert back to these individuals supporting al-Qaida,” said Col. David Sutherland, the U.S. military commander in Diyala province. “It weighs heavily on my mind.”

Last winter, fierce street battles were common in Baqouba. Militant factions were attacking one another as well as U.S. and Iraqi forces.

In late April, a few dozen 1920s members approached the U.S. military and said they wanted to join the fight against al-Qaida. Since then the group has grown and played a key roles: riding along on American patrols and identifying al-Qaida safe houses.

“They give us information and local intelligence. They go on patrols with us and they’re helping us hold large parts of the province,” said Sutherland, from Toledo. “We don’t want to lose that.”

U.S. officials have come up with two temporary solutions: giving reward money to men who come forward with valuable intelligence on insurgent activity, and hiring some of them on short-term security contracts to guard schools, electricity plants and other sites.

But the pay is only about three-quarters of the lowest-ranking policeman, and only 20 percent of the former insurgents can be hired in the coming weeks, said Lt. Col. Tim Karcher, head of Diyala’s provincial police transition team and part of the U.S. Army’s 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.

“It’ll ease some of the frustration,” said Karcher, of Harker Heights, Texas. “But the real question here is the Iraqi government’s stance.”