Army Colonel Says Iraqi Police Still Need Support

Iraqi police need the continued backing of Coalition forces, according to a U.S. Army Colonel who's speaking in Pittsburgh today. Thomas Evans is a member of the Current Affairs Panel at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle. He says the challenge in Iraq has been training about 300,000 police officers after law enforcement there had completely disintegrated. Evans says Coalition forces have trained the officers, put them on a standardized radio system, and equipped them. Now, he says, they're regaining the trust of the Iraqi people, who had become accustomed to paying bribes if they wanted to report a crime.
Still, he says, some corruption remains. For the short term, and Evans says he doesn't know how to define "short term," he believes Coalition forces need to be in Iraq to make sure police keep control.
The Current Affairs Panel is speaking at the University of Pittsburgh's student union at 4 pm and will be at libraries in Mount Lebanon and Peters Township later tonight.