I am writing concerning "2 killed in blasts targeting police forces across Iraq" (article, July 28). It appears that the Associated Press reporter, Hamid Ahmed, is not as knowledgeable about the federal police (formerly national police) as he needs to be to report on them.

First, Ahmed called them "national police." While it may take everyone a minute to catch on to the new name, the national police are now known as "federal police."

The other comment I take issue with is that he states: "Although the U.S. military has made enormous efforts to train and equip Iraq’s army, it has not given the same attention to the national and local police." This couldn’t be further from the truth.

The federal police and Iraqi police both have transition teams assigned to them, and many of the FP units fight alongside the Iraqi army. They have specialized training, and their transition teams work to get them the equipment that the Ministry of the Interior does not.

The FPs are just as capable of fighting as their Iraqi army counterparts and have earned the confidence of their coalition partner units. I hate to see them get a bum rap in the news when it’s just not true, as are many stories that are published about Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

Please research stories more thoroughly before publishing them.

Sgt. Chris BelvinBaghdad

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