US says security in Iraq up to Iraqis themselves

[NNN0LHI]

They are getting the American people and the Iraqis ready for our departure. You watch and see. This is a page taken right out of the we are leaving Vietnam with honor book. Don

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/5066493.htm

BAGHDAD, Sept 6 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Saturday it was up to Iraqis and not the American-led occupiers to control violence unleashed since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Earlier, Rumsfeld lauded what he said was the "wonderful start" to rebuilding Iraq when he addressed U.S. and Polish soldiers among the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon, even as guerrillas attacked his troops and protesters marched for jobs.

"This country belongs to the Iraqi people. And in the last analysis, it is the Iraqi people who will provide the security in this country," Rumsfeld told a news conference in Baghdad.

Rumsfeld's comments, at the end of a three-day tour of Iraq, were intended to stem mounting criticism of U.S. forces for failing to control lawlessness and prevent a string of car bombs which have killed more than 120 people in the last month.

more

[Frances]

1. But we are opposed to that Iraqi militia

in Najiv (sp?), aren't we?

[NNN0LHI]

4. Not any more

Paul Bremmer was on with Rummy today and said (lied) that the Iraqi militias were all organized with the permission of the US. And pigs fly too.

Don

[htuttle]

2. International law has a differing opinion

Under the Geneva Conventions, as the occupying power, the US clearly has a responsibility for the security of the citizens of the occupied territory:

An occupying power has a duty to ensure public order and safety in the territory under its authority. Under customary international law, this duty begins once a stable regime of occupation has been established. But under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, the duty attaches as soon as the occupying force exercises control or authority over civilians of that territory -- that is, at the soonest possible moment (a principle reflected in U.S. Army Field Manual 27-10).

Military commanders on the spot must prevent and where necessary suppress serious violations involving the local population under their control or subject to their authority. The occupying force is responsible for protecting the population from violence by third parties, such as newly formed armed groups or forces of the former regime. Ensuring local security includes protecting persons, including minority groups and former government officials, from reprisals and revenge attacks.

Occupying forces may have to be deployed to secure public order until the time local or international police can be mobilized for such responsibilities. Unless such forces are facing hostilities, the use of force is governed by international standards for law enforcement. That is, only necessary and proportionate force may be used and only to the required extent.
http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/iraq/ihlfaqoccupation.htm

I know Rumsferatu doesn't care about International Law, but the rest of the planet may.

[The Magistrate]

12. Indeed, Mr. Tuttle

In any case, it is rather rum to invade a place, and then expect its people to protect your garrissons.

[benfranklin1776]

21. Yes it is a quite idiotically impertinent demand indeed.

The essence of unbridled, unbalanced chutzpah. We shall bomb your infrastructure to smithereens, deprive you of the basic necessities of daily life, dismantle your police forces and civil institutions, disarm you of the means for self protection and shoot you if you do as requested and patrol your neighborhood, after which we shall then demand that you find, post haste, a solution for the wretched state of affairs that we put you in. Of course this is ideologically consistent with their basic philosophy which is always to blame the victim, after all poor people are only poor because its their fault and they don't want to work, sick people are only sick because they are sluggards and should not be taking up space in the emergency rooms...on and on and on...a variant of the same callous, repugnant theme let the victims help themselves and if they die trying, well so be it they say, as Scrooge said, "It will reduce the surplus population."

[Zhade]

13. "Rumsferatu" - awesome.

Makes me think of switching from my usual name for him - Skeletor.

[htuttle]

14. Oh, I didn't make that up

I think the first person I heard using it was the "thebigidea" here on DU some time ago.

Props to you, "thebigidea'! You weirdo! :)

[dusty64]

19. Our regime doesn't

have to follow the Convention, they are exempt from all laws and treaties.

[Unknown Known]

3. David Kay's company trains Iraqi army

It's all about privatization - SAIC is a subsidiary of Vinnell corp.

Aside from homeland security projects, SAIC has already won several reconstruction contracts in Iraq, and Kay along with other former company employees are firmly planted in country. The company has headed up the Iraqi Reconstruction and Development Council (IRDC) since the Pentagon established the body was in February, according to the Asia Times report, and also runs the recently established Iraqi Media Network (IMN) project, charged with building a new information ministry, complete with television, radio and a newspaper. SAIC is also a subcontractor under Vinnell Corporation, which has been training the Saudi National Guard for a long time, and is now responsible for pulling together and training a new Iraqi army.

http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/8791

[Vikingking66]

5. "I will not send American boys to die"

That'll last a whole 5 seconds.

[MrPrax]

6. Disgusting...

Since the US troops have been shooting armed Iraqis after curfew who have been doing just that, including Iraqis policemen they have hired, on a regular basis, threw out the fellow that tried to be mayor of Bagdhah for just this purpose, rehired Ba'athist torturers, outlawed the shi' ites militia, engage in retalitory 'payback' shootings at check points (perhaps 20 dead a day by est. of human rights groups) and are generally the source of most of the violence in Iraq...this would disingenious to say the least

[Nottingham]

7. Is these like US Citizens safety is Up to them too

:bounce:

[Gin]

8. He...Donald "mr. magoo" Rumsfeld doesnt want Iraqis to protect

themselves...he wants them to tell on each other..sounds a lot like
the TIPS program to me.

[Paschall]

10. Denunciation. That's how I read it, too.

Another strategic error.

I suspect denouncing one's neighbors is not viewed well by the Iraqi population used to living under the boot of Saddam's secret police.

A few years ago, the French right wing tried to pass a law that would have made it a crime not to notify police that you were hosting foreigners in your home. The law would have required people to verify the immigration/visa status of their guests and report violations to authorities. The last time France had such a law was under the collaborationist Vichy regime in WWII. Yet, even a half century later, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to oppose the bill in some of France's largest demonstrations since the war.

Americans have been coaxed for decades into being auxiliary agents of the police: it's considered "good citizenship." To the French, the idea is abhorrent--as I suspect it is in the eyes of the Iraqis.

[Zhade]

15. Offering up your brethren is viewed very poorly, indeed.

One of the major Muslim customs - even for secular Muslims - is the concept of "under my roof, under my protection". This extends to the community at large.

Remember, the Taliban wouldn't hand over bin Laden because he was their guest. Hardline Muslims take the same view. And a people under brutal occupation - like the Iraqis - tend to stick together more often than not.

[TahitiNut]

16. Hospitality is a duty to Allah ...

... and few Americans, even JudeoChristians, comprehend this. You're right on about the Taliban's reticence to hand over Usama being based on their holy obligation to defend the guest in their home. This is the lesson in the parable of Sodom & Gomorrah. It's abysmally pitiful that self-righteous "people of the Book" are so disrespectful of this -- just consider the treatment of immigrants.

[Zhade]

22. THANK YOU.

I'm bisexual, and I get so annoyed when people cannot understand the parable of S&M (hehe, I said S&M).

[Barrett808]

9. "An Iraqi boy also died in crossfire between U.S. soldiers and attackers"

That's a nice aside.

[0007]

11. So is their form of government!

So is building their own country with their contractors!

Taking Iraqi's oil is stealing. You know, like "Thou shall not Steal"

[reprobate]

18. I would not want to be one of Bush's contractors in Iraq now.

With Shia militias armed, and I'd bet Suni militias as well before long, we can expect a feeling of Iraqi nationalism to show itself soon. That should make it rather dangerous for foreign (US) contractors in iraq.

My main question is just how did we get such a gang that can't think straight in control of us?

Leaving aside the fact that they lied to us from the start of their administration, every decision they made turned out to be the wrong one.

[underpants]

17. Translation:"It's your own damned fault" "We wash our hands of it"

So much for accountability and responsibility.

[indepat]

20. Surely this makes Rumsfeld one of the biggest MFFH's of all time

since the bombardment, invasion, and occupation have left millions without employment, water, electricity, and/or food.