Iraq has ordered $100 million worth of light military equipment from China for its police force, contending the United States was unable to provide the material and is too slow to deliver arms shipments, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said Wednesday [Oct. 3, 2007]....

The capabilities of Iraqi security forces are pivotal to the U.S. exit strategy in Iraq, with the creation of a viable police force critical to reconciliation. Talabani said only one in five Iraqi police officers is armed and called for faster weapons delivery from the United States to beef up Iraq's fledgling army.

Iraq's police force is noted for infiltration by militias and insurgents out to use national resources for their own ends, said William Hartung, director of the New America Foundation Arms and Security Initiative.

"Besides, aside from possibly wanting newer models, there are piles of arms and weapons floating around in Iraq," he said...

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