MOSUL, Iraq -- The first meetings in the Mosul area to include members of the Iraqi police service, the Iraqi border patrol, the Iraqi civil defense corps and the Facilities Protection Service, took place, May 31, Mosul and June 1, in Irbil. The leaders gathered to discuss the future of the emergency and armed services within Ninevah and Irbil provinces.
This meeting, which also included coalition forces representatives, focused on preparing ISF for the transfer of sovereignty, June 30.
The senior leaders also discussed how the role of coalition forces would change to allow Iraq security to step up and assume primary responsibility for securing Iraq in the next couple of weeks.
Brig. Gen. Carter Ham, Multi-National Brigade-North coalition forces commander, said there is a long road ahead with many obstacles to overcome, but as the end of June approaches, the ISF must be prepared.
"Coalition forces will remain in the area, but after June 30, all of your agencies will be responsible for providing the law, order and security," he said to participants at the conference. "We should also make the transition more meaningful by making a visible difference and creating a feeling of well being for the citizens we all work for.
"Ham said while there will still be coalition activity after the transition date, their presence will be less obvious and the number of joint operations between coalition forces and ISF will increase, such as patrols and traffic control points.
Security forces representatives proposed a change in the operation of each branch of the ISF as individual organizations and recommended construction of Joint Coordination Centers throughout the region, similar to the operations center at One West Police Headquarters in Mosul.
All of the services would be coordinated at one central location, which would also include the civil defense and ambulance services, so that any incident would be dealt with in the timeliest and most appropriate manner.
This proposal will be discussed by local security and government leaders in the following weeks.
"Despite wearing different uniforms and being from different organizations, we are all facing the same problems," said Brig. Gen. Shalan, commander of the Iraqi border patrol in Ninevah province.
"We need to create cooperation and a way of coordination among the services, such as performing joint operations, to produce effective results in our fight against crime and terrorists.
"The meeting also discussed future training plans for the different organizations over the next year and plans to form new battalions and brigades in the various services for additional assistance to keep the peace in Iraq.
| Date Taken: |
06.15.2004 |
| Date Posted: |
06.15.2004 15:48 |
| Story ID: |
10 |
| Location: |
MOSUL, IQ |
| Web Views: |
362 |
| Downloads: |
314 |
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