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) 
 
 ¶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