US embassy cable - 05BRUSSELS1466

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 001466 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/ERA, EUR/RPM, INL/AAE, NEA/NGA 
BUJUMBURA FOR AMBASSADOR YELLIN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/11/2015 
TAGS: PINS, PTER, MARR, IZ, EAID, EUN, USEU BRUSSELS 
SUBJECT: DISCUSSIONS WITH THE DIRECTOR OF THE EU'S 
INTEGRATED RULE OF LAW MISSION FOR THE IRAQI CRIMINAL 
JUSTICE SYSTEM 
 
Classified By: USEU Political-Military Officer, Jeremy Brenner for reas 
ons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (SBU) Summary:  The EU Integrated Rule of Law Mission for 
the Iraqi criminal justice system plans to train 770 
individuals from the senior management ranks of the police, 
the judiciary, and the penal system.  The Director of the 
mission believes that police and military roles and tasks 
must be carefully delineated so that the community's 
interaction with the police services is as comfortable and 
positive as possible.  The primary task is to promote Iraqi 
involvement by persuading the citizens that the police are 
working to make Iraqi cities safer for their people. End 
summary. 
 
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A Northern Ireland Hand at the Helm 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
2. (SBU)  Stephen White, the director of the European Union's 
"EUROJUST LEX" rule of law training mission for the Iraqi 
criminal justice system, gave details of the program in an 
April 5 meeting with visiting Ambassador James Yellin. 
White, one of six Deputy Chief Constables in Northern Ireland 
until his retirement six months ago, was recruited to head 
the mission by Pieter Feith, Deputy Director General for 
European Security and Defense within the Council of the 
European Union.  White, who has long experience in senior 
leadership training within the UK police, accompanied Feith 
on the fact-finding mission to Iraq in December 2004. 
 
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Distinguishing between Police and Military Roles 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
3. (SBU) White holds very strong views on community policing 
and the appropriate division between military and civil 
police roles in combating terrorism.  He argues passionately 
that police in a democratic society must be seen by the local 
population to be the protectors of life and property.  He 
summarizes his goal with the EUROJUST LEX mission as creating 
an Iraqi police force that will make cities safer for the 
Iraqi people. 
 
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The Training 
--------------- 
 
4. (SBU)  The mission will likely spend three months 
recruiting staff . Once it is underway, White expects to 
provide training outside of Iraq to 770 identified 
individuals. 
These will include senior judges, police officers, 
prosecutors, examining magistrates, and prison officials. 
The courses are limited to a maximum four weeks.  White 
recognizes the inadequacy of this constrained period, but 
said that he would consider it a success to get the Iraqis 
enrolled even for such a short course.  The training will 
cover operational subjects such as combating kidnapping, 
narcotics, money laundering, terrorism, and cross-border 
infiltration.  It will also teach management skills in areas 
such as human resources, human rights, and finance and budget 
issues. According to White, the curriculum for his program is 
the same as that developed by ICITAP for the US training 
program in Jordan. 
 
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Measures of Success 
------------------------- 
 
5. (SBU)  White identifies five measures of a successful 
police service.  1) It must be effective. By this he means, 
among other things, that the police must have the trust of 
the public so that witnesses are willing to come forward and 
there is public support for their efforts.  2) The police 
must also be accountable. White pointed out that the police 
authorities under Saddam Hussein were only accountable to 
their chain of command and the political leadership. There 
was no media oversight, no Parliamentary controls, and no 
independent review mechanism.  3) The police must also be 
representative, according to White's schema.  In practice 
this means recruiting Kurds and women, both 
under-represented in the present force structure.  4) The 
police must also be open and transparent.  5) His fifth 
standard for success is that the police must be - and be seen 
to be - impartial and free from political control. 
 
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Earning Iraqi "Buy-in" 
--------------------------- 
 
6. (SBU)  White is under no illusions that the current 
criminal justice system fulfills any of these standards.  The 
most pressing need for the officers and their chiefs is 
weaponry and ammunition in order to safeguard their own 
lives.  Still, he hopes to break down existing barriers of 
mistrust between the various components of the criminal 
justice system, and improve collaboration among the services. 
His goal is to ensure that the component of policing that 
comes in contact with the public demonstrates some community 
awareness and increases Iraqi involvement in securing law and 
order.  Given the current security situation, he acknowledges 
that the community police may have to work within an outer 
perimeter established by commando units or military forces, 
but he sees positive personal contacts as vital if the police 
are to shed their image as agents of the "occupiers." 
 
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Comment 
------------ 
 
7. (C)  White is a pragmatic cop, who has survived attempts 
on his life by the IRA. However, he made it clear that in 
carrying out this mission, he is on a very short political 
leash.  This is to be seen as an EU mission.  The liaison 
team in Baghdad will be housed in the British Embassy 
compound.  While he is open to collaboration with the US on 
the ground, he asks that we understand his need for 
discretion in contacts with US counterparts.  He attributed 
the political sensitivity specifically to French and German 
insistence that the EU mission not be publicly associated 
with US operations.  Acting A/S Bradtke nonetheless 
encouraged the EU to closely coordinate with the US during 
April 11 consultations.  He provided Council and Commission 
interlocutors as well as the Luxembourg presidency a list of 
U.S. officials in Amman and Baghdad already engaged in police 
training and judiciary and corrections management. 
 
Baghdad Minimize Considered 
 
Schnabel 
.