EU plans Iraq police school as a peace offering to Bush

By Andrew Beatty

Date: 03/02/05

The EU intends to announce a police-training mission to Iraq when US President George W. Bush visits Brussels on 22 February, in a bid to ease almost two years of transatlantic angst.

Under proposals currently being discussed, EU member states would train between 700-800 senior Iraqi police officers and magistrates over a 12-month period.

But because of political sensitivities among countries opposed to the war in Iraq and recommendations from experts who recently travelled there, the training will not take place on Iraq's territory.

Instead, it is likely to take place in the EU and in the wider Middle East, with diplomats citing Jordan and the United Arab Emirates as possible locations.

But the possibility of conducting operations in Iraq at a later date has not been ruled out and further security assessments are likely.

Although details are not yet finalised, there will be a common EU curriculum for training, which is likely to include management courses as well as advice on conducting criminal investigations.

Despite initial resistance to the plans from some member states, foreign ministers earlier this week raised "no fundamental problems", according to one Council of Ministers diplomat.

Details of the mission's mandate, legal basis and financing still have to be worked out and officials say the actual launch of the operation is likely to come some weeks after Bush's visit.

But member states are keen to have an announcement ready for the president's trip and the mission is expected to be up and running well ahead of October's referendum. That is when Iraqis will vote on a constitution to be drafted by the assembly elected in last Sunday's (30 January) polls.

"The idea is to set it up as quickly as we can," said one official.

NATO already has in place a training mission for the Iraqi security forces.

According to diplomats, further EU plans for training prison guards and long-term administrative training for officials could be proposed in the coming months.

Last Sunday's presidential elections were welcomed by EU foreign ministers although the low participation of Sunni Iraqis is prompting fears that a sense of disenfranchisement could spark further violence.

Former American president Bill Clinton urged those taking part in the drafting of the constitution "to ensure a fair representation of all religious groups" in the country's political life.

"It is important that the winners make sure to include everybody," he said, stressing the importance of including those religious groups which because of low voter participation during Sunday's election will not have representation in the elected assembly.

"The Shias and the Kurds should reach out to the Sunnis and say 'come here and let's share the power and the responsibilities'," Clinton said.

Indications that electors in Kirkuk, in northern Iraq, might have voted by as much as two-thirds for Kurdish candidates have also caused some concern that the city's delicate ethic and power balances could be upset.

Recep Tayyp Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, insisted that the constitution should be "a fair, just, problem-solving one".

"I hope that it will protect the integrity of Iraq," Erdogan said.

"It should prevent any ethnic group becoming dominant. It should also make sure that the wealth belongs to all ethnic groups, not only to some."

Article reports that proposals are being discussed, under which EU Member States would train between 700-800 senior Iraqi police officers and magistrates over a 12-month period. This EU police-training mission is intended to be announced during the visit of US President George W. Bush to Brussels on 22 February 2005.