Abu Muqawama: Post
Abu Muqawama retains its autonomy and the views and beliefs expressed within the blog do not reflect those of CNAS. Abu Muqawama retains the right to delete comments that include words that incite violence; are predatory, hateful, or intended to intimidate or harass; or degrade people on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. In summary, don't be a jerk.
Today's Most Important Story That You Will Likely Not Read
An article by Leila Fadel on the Egyptian police ran in today's Washington Post. I probably would not have read it had I not been flipping through the actual paper edition, and I'm guessing the editors at the Post itself did not consider it very important because it has a dateline of CAIRO even though Fadel has been in Libya for over a week -- suggesting the paper sat on this story, not considering it a priority, until they could find a place into which they could squeeze it.
Of all the institutions Egypt may need to overhaul if it hopes for a true democratic transition, the police and security forces are among the most important ...
After the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, the population's widespread fear of the police has given way to a general disdain for the forces that beat and teargassed demonstrators during recent protests.
"If they would just let me explain that I would never beat them, that they are my brothers," Hamid says of the people who, instead of offering deference, now holler words like "traitor" at him when he is at his post. "I just stand there, and I don't know what to say."
If you read my trip reports from Egypt, you'll know I have been screaming about how all the focus on the Egyptian military has taken people's attention off the fact that what the Egyptian military and people need more than anything right now is, in addition to a transitional government, competent local police.
If the United States and its allies are looking for ways in which they might support the rule of law in post-Mubarak Egypt, supplying police trainers might make a lot more sense than some of the $1.3 billion in military aid the United States supplies annually.
Update: Jason "Oddball" Fritz, who knows more about training police than I do, has a good response to this post on Ink Spots.
Ex, Amen to putting our
Ex,
Amen to putting our American dollars to work for local police forces. The same must be said about our security force assistance dollars in both Iraq and A-stan, as well as several other countries around the world. As you probably already know, however, it is far easier to justify spending US taxpayer money on heavy warfighting equipment for the militaries - that money will quickly return to US defense firms and stockholder pockets. Training police forces may have far greater long-term benefits for stability and rule-of-law, but there isn't the great, tangible return on investment. Even if we use contract trainers for that endeavor, it only enriches the trainer and the company who sent him/her, with little trickle-down to manufacturing jobs in key districts.
As the international development community has learned through 4 decades of work, grassroots effort is less expensive, longer-lasting, and more endearing. The security community needs to learn the same.
If the United States and its
If the United States and its allies are looking for ways in which they might support the rule of law in post-Mubarak Egypt, supplying police trainers might make a lot more sense than some of the $1.3 billion in military aid the United States supplies annually.
For what it's worth, there's a police training prohibition associated with Foreign Military Finance (which is the $1.3B you mention). But 22 U.S.C. Sec. 2420(b)(6) allows an exception "with respect to assistance provided to reconstitute civilian police authority and capability in the post-conflict restoration of host nation infrastructure for the purposes of supporting a nation emerging from instability, and the provision of professional public safety training, to include training in internationally recognized standards of human rights, the rule of law, anti-corruption, and the promotion of civilian police roles that support democracy."
The long and the short of it: depending on how you interpret this provision, Egypt could probably purchase police training from the USG with some portion of that FMF money. This would, of course, require the Egyptian government to make the determination that it actually wanted to spend that cash on police training, which seems unlikely so long as the army's in charge (as it would divert funds that would otherwise be used to purchase military materiel, training, and education).
Just want to give a shout out
Just want to give a shout out for Leila Fadel-- She was Bureau Chief in Baghdad for McClatchy when I was at MNF-I, and she's a good reporter and stand up lady. Met her a few times, and what impressed me most was her compassion, for US soldiers and for Iraqi citizens. Glad to see her doing interesting things with the Washington Post.
What am I reading
What am I reading today?.............
.....This.... http://www.understandingwar.org/files/Afghanistan_Report_8_emailopt.pdf
Pretty well sums up what has happen with the Afghan Surge to date. The report puts some what of a positive spin on progress. The Obama administration can boost that spin all it wants, but when the day is done the BILL is too much for the RESULTS. What report eight leaves out is the amount of heavy lift spending that the United States is doing which is well documented. USAID- the dam project to add electricity production, the 4,000 public worker program, paying for the equipment and the salaries of BOTH the afghan army/police, agriculture programs, cost of supplying US forces, and the DEA opium war.
That is a lot of money !
For some reason we do not hear much about the surge in the news anymore. Yes bits and pieces about Afghans turning on US soldiers or Taliban showing up in uniforms of the Afghan army. Then there is the discussion of the last post. Why is it important to make some Rolling Stone reporter look bad? The problem still remains no matter what the diversion. Karzai is still in power and he is still corrupt, so are the rest of the players.
Sorry Andrew, if you are testing out some assumptions, funding the Egyptian Police has no legs.
It is time to cut Foreign Aid, not expand it. We are spending way too much in Afghanistan and when the US leaves it will still be about a corrupt government and US trained police that are not ready to lead. Afghanistan was tribal before the US got there and will be tribal when the US leave. The dam that the US built in the '50s will go back in to providing irrigation for opium production with a brand new electrical turbine to provide power to process the raw material into street sellable product.
Then there is the hidden cost, the $2-3 Billion a year to keep the ball rolling in Afghanistan........that is a another ten to twenty year project and the out come will still be the same.
I am tired of funding the ME with US AID and over priced OIL.
The $1.3 Billion is really about $2 Billion when you add in the non-military aid.
The ME has moved on, so should the US. That aid for Egypt is based on something that happened over thirty years ago !
Bingo. We should offer
Bingo. We should offer crashcourses in community-policing in Europe and the US, build a camp and give em a 30-day seminar with all the luxury of a FOB. Now is the time to give aid through infrastructure. Support Engineers Without Borders as well. To play right into the Obama-paranoia, what is needed is community-organizing.
But the police ARE competent.
But the police ARE competent. They are doing exactly what the regime wants them to do!
Visitor 435 nailed it. they
Visitor 435 nailed it. they were doing exactly what the guys who signed the checks asked. And will again I warrant.
Training doesn't make you a moral person if you are a criminal or thug by nature. It makes you a craftier thug. *
Just like shop in prison makes you a better thief - technically competent. The Liberal mind: education solves everything, along with a govt check.
If we're really going to train police, take those FB kids and start fresh.
*I mean...look at me.
Recycled Fashion is a great
Recycled Fashion is a great way for Karen Millen sale to add the green fashion in their Karen Millen dress. The designers take recycled material or clothing and rework them to create a Karen Millen outlet new look. According to Huber, recycled fashion opens new opportunities for small developers, and "give them the opportunity to enter the market more easily Karen Millen online way." Not only is recycled fashion offers more opportunities to up and coming designers, but also offers greater choice and only looking for anyone who wants to stand out from the crowd. "Recycling old clothes and textiles is a great Karen Millen clothes for designers to be creative. Every garment made from recycled fabrics is unique, and shows originality in the way they fit together. We live in a time when people is buying clothes for their Karen Millen online shop, and has a dress made of a mixture of fabrics and finishes are a great way to do it, "says Jo Dean Tipton, director of Fashion Design Art Institute of Indianapolis.
Recently found a very good
Recently found a very good shop, shop named solo hd. There are many fashion ambush factors, there is a lovely line of people to go like the beats by dre; also feminine monster beats; also take the unusual route of people love the solo beats, and so on. And recently there are many models on sale, such as lady gaga heartbeats, like beats studio people must not miss.
Do you know your laptop
Do you know your laptop battery?When given this question to any user of the laptops batteries,they will get confused. This happens to me once when someone asks me about my dell battery.As you can see, before replacing the Hp Compaq battery Acer battery Apple battery IBM battery Asus battery Lenovo battery Samsung battery Sony battery and Toshiba battery,it is very important to know a little about the field again in the first place. There are several types of Canada laptop batteries that I will share in this post. The types of replacement laptop batteries: 1. Alkaline – This is a common batteries for laptop around, but only a few use this kind and the ruling on alkaline Dell Inspiron 6400 Battery,Dell 1520 battery or Dell 1525 battery will not be rechargeable. You have to shoot once to deflate. 2. Lead Acid – One of the most common use. It is durable, resistant and rechargeable, but unfortunately the Dell Latitude D800 Battery is heavy and full of lead: P. 3. Lithium-Ion – The type of HP Pavilion DV4 Battery or HP HSTNN-DB72 battery that you want to have for your laptop. The quick-charge effect is good for users moving (no need to wait a while for the battery is fully charged.) It is also environmentally friendly as well. 4. Nickel Cadmium – Ni-Cd is one of the oldest types and improved performance of rechargeable acer aspire 5520 series battery, but has a serious problem. After prolonged use (several years),acer aspire 5520G battery will be affected by the dreaded memory effect. This means that the use of battery life deteriorates over time. 5. Nickel Metal Hydride – Ni-MH is considered the successor to the Ni-Cd batteries such as acer aspire 5100 battery and acer aspire one battery, but unfortunately, the dreaded memory effect is as bad as well. However, comparison of the Ni-Cd and NiMH batteries, it lasts longer compared to its predecessor. The chances of using lithium-ion apple A1280 battery is 99% (that is if you are using the new breed of laptops). Just check the abbreviation says Lion or Li-Ion batteries in apple A1281 battery label. There are still some laptops that use Ni-MH batteries these days and you may want to check with the manufacturer if you can make an update of Ni-MH Li-Ion. The unauthorized use of Dell latitude D600 battery could lead to dire consequence. so do be very careful about this. If you have a larger budget you might want to check the SMART acer BATBL50L6 battery. It has a power management circuit and also tells the user which is the current condition of the BATBL50L6 replacement battery.
Do you know your laptop
Do you know your laptop battery?When given this question to any user of the laptops batteries,they will get confused. This happens to me once when someone asks me about my dell battery.As you can see, before replacing the Hp Compaq battery Acer battery Apple battery IBM battery Asus battery Lenovo battery Samsung battery Sony battery and Toshiba battery,it is very important to know a little about the field again in the first place. There are several types of Canada laptop batteries that I will share in this post. The types of replacement laptop batteries: 1. Alkaline – This is a common batteries for laptop around, but only a few use this kind and the ruling on alkaline Dell Inspiron 6400 Battery,Dell 1520 battery or Dell 1525 battery will not be rechargeable. You have to shoot once to deflate. 2. Lead Acid – One of the most common use. It is durable, resistant and rechargeable, but unfortunately the Dell Latitude D800 Battery is heavy and full of lead: P. 3. Lithium-Ion – The type of HP Pavilion DV4 Battery or HP HSTNN-DB72 battery that you want to have for your laptop. The quick-charge effect is good for users moving (no need to wait a while for the battery is fully charged.) It is also environmentally friendly as well. 4. Nickel Cadmium – Ni-Cd is one of the oldest types and improved performance of rechargeable acer aspire 5520 series battery, but has a serious problem. After prolonged use (several years),acer aspire 5520G battery will be affected by the dreaded memory effect. This means that the use of battery life deteriorates over time. 5. Nickel Metal Hydride – Ni-MH is considered the successor to the Ni-Cd batteries such as acer aspire 5100 battery and acer aspire one battery, but unfortunately, the dreaded memory effect is as bad as well. However, comparison of the Ni-Cd and NiMH batteries, it lasts longer compared to its predecessor. The chances of using lithium-ion apple A1280 battery is 99% (that is if you are using the new breed of laptops). Just check the abbreviation says Lion or Li-Ion batteries in apple A1281 battery label. There are still some laptops that use Ni-MH batteries these days and you may want to check with the manufacturer if you can make an update of Ni-MH Li-Ion. The unauthorized use of Dell latitude D600 battery could lead to dire consequence. so do be very careful about this. If you have a larger budget you might want to check the SMART acer BATBL50L6 battery. It has a power management circuit and also tells the user which is the current condition of the BATBL50L6 replacement battery.
Add your comment