Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BAGHDAD1282
2007-04-14 18:11:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Baghdad
Cable title:  

BAGHDAD POLICE COLLEGE: MORE THAN THE SCANDAL

Tags:  ASIG IZ KJUS MCAP MOPS PGOV 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO5060
RR RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #1282/01 1041811
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 141811Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0719
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC
RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL//CCJ2//
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001282 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/14/2017
TAGS: ASIG IZ KJUS MCAP MOPS PGOV
SUBJECT: BAGHDAD POLICE COLLEGE: MORE THAN THE SCANDAL

Classified By: A/Pol-Mil Counselor Apar Sidhu for reasons 1.4 (b/d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001282

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/14/2017
TAGS: ASIG IZ KJUS MCAP MOPS PGOV
SUBJECT: BAGHDAD POLICE COLLEGE: MORE THAN THE SCANDAL

Classified By: A/Pol-Mil Counselor Apar Sidhu for reasons 1.4 (b/d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: The Multinational Security Transition
Command-Iraq continues efforts to establish a quality police
training facility at the Baghdad Police College by this
summer. Ongoing efforts include remedial construction at
eight cadet barracks, facilities made infamous last fall
because of the substandard work by the original American
contractor. This entails the complete gutting of plumbing on
the buildings' upper floors and the creation of external
toilet facilities in the courtyard. Six instructor barracks
buildings await positive soil samples to determine if
remedial construction is even possible. END SUMMARY.

--------------
Background
--------------

2. (C) The Baghdad Police College in Baghdad,s Rusafa
district was the subject of a scathing report last fall by
the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraqi
Reconstruction, which noted substandard work at the facility
by the American contractor hired to renovate it. According
to the report, the plumbing in the cadet barracks was in
particularly bad shape, causing water and waste damage
throughout the facility.

--------------
Cadet Barracks: Much Work Still Remains
--------------

3. (C) On April 9, Pol-Mil Officer joined Major General
Hunzeker, Commander of the Coalition,s Civilian Police
Assistance Transition Team and Baghdad National Police
College Commandant Major General Hussein on a tour of the
Baghdad Police College. Hunzeker and Hussein were briefed by
a coalition military engineer on the work that the new
contractor, Laguna Corporation, must carry out to make the
cadet,s barracks usable. These include: removing the second
and third floor plumbing units of all eight student barracks
and the repair of water damage to the building,s walls and
ceilings. Laguna will build two large shower and toilet
buildings in the courtyard areas as replacement facilities.
Water damage was still visible in several areas of the

building. Laguna, working under the supervision of the Army
Corps of Engineers, hopes to have the repairs to the barracks
completed by early summer. Laguna will also conduct remedial
construction on six instructor barracks adjacent to the
student barracks if the results of soil samples determine
that these buildings are salvageable.

--------------
Iraqi Products Supporting Iraqi Police
--------------

5. (C) The College's Chief of Logistics, Major General Amir,
showed Hunzeker and Hussein a large warehouse containing the
equipment and clothing issued to incoming police cadets. The
warehouse contained over USD 8 million of new Iraqi police
uniforms, shoes, berets, and other clothing articles
manufactured locally by Iraqi firms under contract to the
college. Amir proudly noted the high quality of the
Iraqi-made clothing. He said that contracting directly with
local firms not only allowed him to purchase high quality
products at a good price, but also provided him with the
flexibility to upgrade uniform designs on short notice. As
an example, he said that the next series of uniforms will
have identification tags sewn into the inside shirt pockets
and pants inseams as an anti-counterfeiting measure.

--------------
Budget Execution Problems: A Familiar Story
--------------

6. (C) Amir stated that his main problem was "not logistical
but financial." He argued that current GOI contracting law
did not allow him sufficient independence in executing his
budget, resulting in an excessively slow release of funds to
pay for purchases. This, he said, forces him to make
purchases in small lots that "choke" the flow of finished
products to the college. He could be more effective, he
said, if he had an independent budget to run the college.

--------------
The Dining Facility: A Leadership Lesson
--------------

7. (C) During their tour of the college,s dining facility
Hunzeker asked Hussein what he thought of the facility's
food. In response, Hussein answered that "to be honest, I
have never eaten here." Hunzeker told Hussein it was a good

BAGHDAD 00001282 002 OF 002


leadership practice for officers to eat with their troops as
often as possible. When asked his opinion on the dining
facility, a cadet commented that his main complaint was that
meal portions were "a bit skimpy."


8. (C) Several non-Iraqi instructors commented that while
they often take bread from the facility, they never eat there
as their own facility is better. Hunzeker also asked about a
recent case of food poisoning in which over 150 cadets became
sick. The food services provider stated that the food
poisoning was not systemic and had probably resulted from an
excessive delay in between the time the food was prepared and
the time it was served to the cadets. He noted that over
three thousand meals were served daily in the mess, with only
"a small number" becoming sick in one instance.
CROCKER