NYT- Iraq Falls Short on Vote Security

[maddezmom]

By EDWARD WONG and ERIC SCHMITT

Published: November 23, 2004



BAGHDAD, Iraq, Nov. 22 - Iraqi officials and American commanders plan to rely on Iraqi security forces to protect 9,000 polling places during the coming elections, but there are far fewer trained security officers than Iraqi officials estimate are needed. Moreover, many have performed poorly in the Sunni Arab areas where the worst violence is expected.

Iraqi and American officials believe it is important to deploy Iraqi forces, rather than have American troops police the polls, to ensure the credibility of the vote. But American commanders say that only 145,000 Iraqi security personnel will be trained and ready by election day, now scheduled for Jan. 30, far short of the 270,000 that Iraqi officials say are needed.

The role that American troops will play is still being defined, though they will probably serve as backups out of sight of the polling stations. As such, they will remain important as the final guarantors of security, and American officials are already worrying about a lack of communication with Iraqi election officials.

"The election commission has been operating virtually on its own with no coordination, without sharing information on polling places," said Senator Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island who serves on the Armed Services Committee and who met with American commanders here this month. "Until we get that, it's hard to plan. They need to rehearse so that on the day of polling it's not a day of violence."

more: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/23/international/middleeast/23vote.html

[Sacajawea]

1. Alternative Title: "USA Falls Short on Vote Security."

:kick:

[maddezmom]

2. 1more: US and Iraq have "no-plan" in place for fair and secure elections

[Rose Siding]

3. Catastrophically successful buck passing

That's supposed to be the whole reason we're THERE