DISCUSSIONS WITH THE DIRECTOR OF THE EU'S

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.

--------------
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.

-------------- --------------
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.

--------------
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.

--------------
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.

--------------
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."

--------------
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
.