More (Shiite) militia members join (Iraq) army, police

[sabra]

Source: Iraq Azzaman Daily

In a surprise move, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has issued a ruling under which 18,000 members of Shiite militias are to merge with the country’s army, police and security forces.

The decision sparked anger and deep concern from several political factions particularly Sunni groups who believe that major Shiite factions have infiltrated the country’s armed forces and police.

The new militia recruits belong to the Dawaa party which Maliki leads and the Badr corps, the militia faction led by the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, Maliki’s main Shiite ally in the government.

The decision is bound to anger the Madhi Army, the powerful militias headed by the Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr whose fighters Maliki has excluded from his decision.


Read more: http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news/2007-11-9/ed.htm

[TwilightGardener]

1. Something tells me Maliki is kinda happy with what's been going on over there--

we're paying off the Sunni groups (the ones who killed our soldiers) to keep the peace, and the Shia are consolidating power everywhere else. We've essentially allowed one tribe to triumph--that's how we're keeping the violence down. Money and arms for Sunnis to rat each other out, power and commerce to the Shia. Got it. Recipe for long-lasting peace, I'm sure.

[sabra]

2. exactly! I read a report that stated Petraeus is paying everyone/anyone to get the

headlines Bush wants/needs...

[TwilightGardener]

3. Yep--it's a giant bribery system. The Sunnis are getting paid to rout

al-Qaeda, which may or may not actually be AQ--that whole "concerned citizen" program has upwards of 17,000 people on the payroll, 300 dollars or more a month, to rat each other out--does anyone REALLY believe they are patriotic, dedicated "minutemen" getting the "bad guys" for the good of Iraq's future? This is the best thing these young men will find in terms of employment, but this isn't a well-trained army, these are random thugs who are not loyal to anyone but their own tribe, and how long are they going to be on our payroll? None of these groups, Sunni and Shia, trust each other, none of them are going to stop jockeying for power. And if we stop paying these Sunni guys (probably most of whom aren't doing a damn thing for the money), they are going to be trouble. My concern is that, like always, we set ourselves up for future problems that we'll have to deal with 5 or 10 years down the road. But I guess we needed instant results for the short-term, and we got it, by opening up the ol' checkbook, and hiring these guys to do some of the intel, "patrolling" and fighting for us.

[sabra]

5. Usama Bin Laden comes to mind for some reason

:sarcasm:

[ChazII]

4. From a shia site

http://www.shiachat.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=234935830

Trying to find other sources for more Iraqi views.