Atty. Gen. Alberto Gonzales, in announcing a new anti-crime task force in Iraq modeled loosely on the anti-terrorism and anti-gang units common in the United States, outlined a significant shift from earlier U.S. efforts to bolster the Iraqi justice system.
Under the plan, FBI agents and other U.S. investigators will play a direct role in helping to develop evidence and identify suspects in attacks against U.S. forces, while criminal prosecutions will be left up to the new Iraqi court system, U.S. officials said.
Until now, the Justice Department has attempted to keep U.S. prosecutors and FBI agents out of direct involvement in criminal cases involving Iraqis and other foreign citizens.
The task force is likely to include about 10 U.S. investigators, including representatives from the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Gonzales said after discussing the idea with Iraqi officials that there was "universal support" for it among Iraqis.
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