ABSTRACT
In Iraq in the summer of 2007, Sunni insurgents began a systematic campaign to kill police chiefs in their homes, policemen at road checkpoints, and would-be officers at recruiting posts, as they had done throughout the insurgency (Australian, 27 August 2007); in 2005 alone, 1,497 officers were killed and 3,256 wounded (New York Times, 16 January 2006). Thai and Yemeni police are similarly targeted, as are police in India where, in April 2010, Naxalite insurgents ambushed paramilitary police in the eastern state of Chattisgarh, killing 74 officers sent to reinforce the inexperienced local police (Financial Times, 7 April 2010). Meanwhile international forces in Afghanistan rely on indigenous police to distract attention from their troops or to provide the local security that will enable them to leave. Hence three-quarters of the US$14.2 billion requested in 2010 for Afghanistan's reconstruction is intended for training, equipping and mentoring the Afghan National Police (ANP) and army (Special Inspector, 2010).
