Seeking safety, Iraqis turn to militias

[Barrett808]

Seeking safety, Iraqis turn to militias
By Dan Murphy and Awadh al-Taiee
Mon Jul 24, 4:00 AM ET

BAGHDAD - A floundering government campaign to crack down on militias and increasing sectarian killings have many Shiites turning to militias for protection, particularly radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's violent Mahdi Army.

The US and British military have stepped up raids on its leadership after growing impatient with the new government's failure to arrest the militia's commanders.

...

Some residents blamed the US raid for the market attack, charging that it forced Mahdi Army members to abandon some of their impromptu checkpoints in the area that are meant to keep out attackers.

"When the Americans come through and break up the checkpoints, that's when we get hit by suicide bombs, like today," says Ahmed Awadh, a Sadr City resident who works in the Ministry of Trade.

"I support the Mahdi Army because they know us here, and we know them. Their checkpoints protect us," he says. "They know all the families, and who has business here. It's clear the Americans don't want to provide us with security. They've had three years.''

(more)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20060724/wl_csm/osadr

[smacky44]

1. A nation out of control. Anarchy reigns.

I think the US and Israel believe that in a year or two when all this is behind us, they will control all of the ME, all the fertile land, all the access to water, all the access to oil, and the ordinary Arabs/Muslims will be a source of cheap labor for our answer to the emerging China economy.

If this is the case, they are badly mistaken. The world will not recover from this ME debacle (Iraq/Lebanon) in our lifetime.

[ugarte]

3. The winner in all of this are the non-state groups

More than ever, Hezbollah are seen as the heroic Robin Hoods of the Arab world.

[bemildred]

2. Gee, who could have predicted this? nt