Hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Subject: Report on the Findings of the Iraqi Security Force Independent Assessment Commission

HEARING OF THE SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE
SUBJECT: REPORT ON THE FINDINGS OF THE IRAQI SECURITY FORCE INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT COMMISSION

SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. General, members of the commission, we appreciate and thank you for your good work and your willingness to come up and present your findings.

General Jones, I have a question dealing with the Interior Ministry and more with the police force than with the armed forces. But I know that the commission was not specifically tasked to assess the capacity of the Iraqi ministries -- even though you weren't specifically, that the commission does address it. And since it is so integral to the development and the readiness and the capability of the Iraqi security forces, we appreciate your good work in that area.

The commission's report finds, and I'll quote, that "The Iraqi security forces, military and police, have made uneven progress," end quote, and while the Iraqi armed forces, especially the army, have shown clear evidence of developing the baseline infrastructure that will lead to the successful formation of a national defense capability, the Iraqi police forces are hampered by -- and this is again a quote -- "Corruption and dysfunction within the Ministry of Interior," end quote.

The Ministry of Defense is assessed as being one of the better functioning agencies of the Iraqi government, and so my question is, what can be done to achieve the same level of success with the Ministry of Interior, since the Iraqi police force is so essential to the security and stability in Iraq?

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