Lt. Col. Tom Boccardi, commander of 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, talks with a man responsible for security in Tarmiyah about using public works employees to man checkpoints. Some Iraqis want to divert employees to security positions in order to make up for manpower shortages. (James Warden / Stars and Stripes)
TARMIYAH, Iraq — The Iraqi government has taken over the costs of the “Sons of Iraq” program, but that hasn’t stopped some from seeking roundabout ways to get the Americans to continue funding Iraqi security programs.
Iraqi leaders in Tarmiyah want to use an American-funded public works program to divert people to manning checkpoints.
The program offers Iraqis jobs cleaning and improving their communities and is not intended to provide any security services, said Lt. Col. Tom Boccardi, commander of 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment. While Baghdad’s “Sons of Iraq” now come under the authority of Iraqi security forces, the public works employees fall under the local “qada,” or county council.
The Iraqi government is trying to make up for manpower shortages in the “Sons of Iraq” program by using public works employees as de facto “Sons of Iraq” members. The government lost many “Sons of Iraq” when it took over the program from the Americans.
The Americans had a fixed amount of money to spend on “Sons of Iraq” groups, which was based on hiring a specific number of people.
However, contractors were allowed to hire more individuals than the contract allowed and divide the money evenly among their employees, Boccardi said. Each member made less.
But more people got a job and manned checkpoints.
The Iraqi government prohibited this arrangement, Boccardi said. It hired only the official number covered under the American contract. This left them with fewer people to spread across Tarmiyah. One group of 700 people dropped almost 30 percent to 500 people.
The Iraqi army also established many of its checkpoints near “Sons of Iraq” positions, probably to watch over the groups, he said. Soldiers that could have been pushed into vulnerable rural areas were left manning redundant checkpoints inside the city.
“Sons of Iraq” leaders are acutely aware of the vulnerabilities that this opens up in a city that they and American soldiers wrestled away from al-Qaida and other insurgent groups.
Boccardi rejected the idea to continue funding Iraqi security programs, though.
Public works employees are intended for civil programs, not security.
The Americans are no longer in the business of paying for Iraqi security.
The Americans and “Sons of Iraq” groups should instead encourage the Iraqi Army to better distribute its checkpoints and push more of its forces off Taji and out into Iraqi communities.
“The way I see it, there needs to be more people doing civil service and less people carrying guns,” Boccardi said. “I’m not going to confuse security with labor.”
