In the debate over whether Iraq is a civil war, and what does the phrase mean and what are the practical applications of one answer or another and all that, the actual situation on the ground sometimes gets lost in the crosstalk. Society is simply disintegrating, with most "normal life" indicators at third-world levels. Lack of potable water, lack of electricity, rampant joblessness, etc. etc. etc.
This applies on the security front as well, and Yglesias finds an interesting note from the Iraq Study Group report indicating that the Iraqi police force apparently "has neither the training nor legal authority to conduct criminal investigations". He comments,
I assume they wouldn't have made a factual error about something like that, but how in the world did this happen? The Police Service lacks the legal authority to conduct criminal investigations? And nobody's reported this yet? That just seems crazy.It does seem crazy, and while I wouldn't be entirely surprised if the wording is incorrect, neither would it shock me if some legal wrinkle exists that makes it accurate. There's nothing resembling a functioning judicial system, so even when criminals are apprehended, I can't imagine there's any fair (or even consistent) process for investigation and prosecution. In any case, another example of just how far gone this project is, and why simplistic ideas like "one more shot" or "one last push" are dangerously detached from reality.
