In Iraq, police beat means just staying alive
 

by Michael Georgy, BAGHDAD, Wednesday (Reuters)

 Iraqi policeman Mushtaak Hassan never steps 10 feet from his house without a pistol. He always varies his route to work. Few people know his address. When the staff sergeant looks at a picture of his best friend, he remembers that policemen are never safe in Iraq.

"Criminals kidnapped him and shot him just because they wanted his pistol. It's that simple," said Hassan. "I knew him for years. We studied together. We went on patrols together."

Charged with bringing order in the bloody chaos of Iraq, policemen are struggling to stay alive. Hundreds have been killed by suicide bombers or hauled from their vehicles and shot in the head execution-style. Under Saddam Hussein's rule, policemen were seen as corrupt but relatively harmless, poor men who took bribes but didn't torture or kill.

Now the Iraqi government expects them to help lead the battle against a sophisticated and ruthless insurgency. A 20-year veteran of the force, Hassan talks tough about the challenges facing the new Iraqi police - daily bombs, kidnappings, beheadings, shootings and criminal gangs."I am not scared of the terrorists or their bombings," he said. "I will protect Iraq from these criminals. We will win."

But alarming statistics about slain policemen run through his mind every morning as he sits down with his wife and five-year-old son Alaa over a plate of eggs, flat bread and syrupy tea before heading for work.

He knows it could be their last meal together. "I play with my son in the morning and talk to my wife because the police are all targets," said 29-year-old Hassan. "I tell them to be careful and stay near the house because they can be killed too."

Police officials say insurgents have infiltrated the police and security forces, paying cash for information on officers on their hit lists. A few months ago Hassan received a piece of paper that has become all too familiar for policemen and security forces condemned by insurgents as agents of American forces. "It was a small piece of paper. It said 'stop working with the Americans or you will be killed'," he said.

The threat could have come from Muslim militants waging a holy war or former Saddam loyalists, experts in surveillance and assassinations. But leaving the police is not an option. Unemployment is high in Iraq, which has few prospects of foreign investment as violence rages.

Hassan earns the equivalent of $235 a month, far more than he made under Saddam. He can buy some new clothes but the salary is not enough for an apartment. So Hassan and his family live on an abandoned military base once occupied by army officers and intelligence agents, the type of people who are hunting policemen. As the commander of a three-man team, his daily routine involves directing patrols and checkpoints in a bid to track down car thieves and gangs. Apprehending criminals is tough when you are constantly trying to protect yourself.