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The Week in Germany: Politics October 21, 2005 Interview: German-U.S. effort benefits Afghan cops Germany and the United States are together making significant headway in training a diverse and professional civilian police force in war-torn Afghanistan, Ambassador Helmut Frick, Germany's special representative for police reconstruction there, told The Week in Germany.
"It's an exceptional example of teamwork," said Frick, who was visiting Washington for talks with administration officials. "In a country of 30 million people, it is a huge task to make a western-style civilian police force out of a body that was once an arm of the security forces." Under an international accord concluded in Bonn under UN auspices shortly after the overthrow of the brutal Taliban regime by a U.S.-led coalition in 2001, Germany has lead responsibility for rebuilding an Afghan police force, including border police, decimated by more than two decades of war. Other "lead nations" in this process are Great Britain (counternarcotics), Italy (judicial system), Japan (disarmament) and the United States (armed forces). Rebuilding a functioning police force throughout Afghanistan is widely seen as a prerequisite for promoting stability, democratization and economic development there. Yet it is also an effort that has the potential to enhance regional and global security — and to create an institution that serves as a symbol of national identity and pride, said Frick. "If we succeed in establishing a police force, we will have created an institution that the population can rally around, a symbol of service in a free society that accords with Islamic and Afghan tradition," Frick told TWIG. Germany's efforts have been focused on setting up a police academy to graduate new officers and provide continuing education to existing ones, mainly the commissioned and non-commissioned officers who constitute the force's upper and intermediate ranks. The academy, which opened its doors in August, 2002, provides one- and three-year training programs to a diverse group of cadets, including many women, Frick said. It includes courses on topics ranging from criminal investigations and social sciences to police tactics and operations. Graduates serve across the country in assignments with the general police force or the criminal, highway or border police forces. According to figures from the Foreign Ministry, over 3,300 commissioned and non-commissioned officers had completed the academy's full training program by October, 2005, while 6,300 more had received short-term specialized training. Yet the German role — while substantial — is only one piece of the larger puzzle, said Frick. "Germany has the lead," he told TWIG. "But our activities can only take place in the framework of a broader international effort." On top of its "lead nation" role in creating an Afghan army, the United States has also trained thousands of Afghan police officers pursuant to a curriculum coordinated with Germany. Most of them are patrolmen — the "cops on the beat" working to protect and serve Afghan communities in the capital Kabul and other cities. "This is an outstanding example of Germany-American cooperation," said Frick. The cooperation of Afghan officials has also been crucial, he added, calling their support "the key to our success." Links:
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