U.S. should stop arming Sunni militias - PM Maliki

[maddezmom]

U.S. should stop arming Sunni militias - PM Maliki
BAGHDAD, June 17 (Reuters) - The United States runs the risk of creating new militias in Iraq if it arms Sunni Arab tribesmen indiscriminately to battle al Qaeda, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said.

In an interview with Newsweek magazine, Maliki gave the first indication his government disagrees with the U.S. military policy of arming and equipping Sunni Arab tribes to fight al Qaeda militants under a model first used in Anbar province.

"We want to arm some tribes that want to side with us but on condition that we should be well aware of the tribe's background and sure that it is not connected with terror," Maliki said.

"Some (U.S.) field commanders make mistakes since they do not know the facts about people they deal with. I believe the Coalition forces do not know the background of the tribes," he told Newsweek on Friday.

"They make mistakes by arming tribes sometimes, and this is dangerous because this will create new militias," he said.

Maliki also appeared to reject criticism of his government's performance in meeting three key political benchmarks aimed at promoting national reconciliation between majority Shi'ites and Sunni Arabs, who were dominant under Saddam Hussein and who now form the backbone of Iraq's bloody insurgency.

http://wap.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/COL751037.htm

[MikeNearMcChord]

1. Future administrations will have to be super-creative

to outdo the Bush Administration in military stupidity. And these yo-yo's went to Ivy League Schools?

[yurbud]

6. reminds me of title of movie on Carville's Latin Am. consulting: "Our Brand Is Chaos"

[kenny blankenship]

2. Supplying arms to the Sunnis will just encourage them to fight the Shia longer

when the inevitable happens and we leave Iraq. When we leave the Shia will impose their rule across Iraq's provinces and monopolize power as the Sunni did before them--and there will be lots of "friction". If we want to maximize the bloodbath of reprisal and suppression in post-occupation Iraq, to make it draw out longer, so that it kills more people than it otherwise would, arming the Sunnis now makes sense and would be the thing to do to achieve that goal.

It's useful to remember that Bush wants his successor's policies in Iraq to be viewed as a failure --a failure worse than his own. That is what he wants and plans for now; the Splurge and all the associated political effort is merely to uphold the fiction that things are working, that things are "trending up", and to furnish Bush's future excuse that Well, we were winning Iraq when I left there. He knows his successor will withdraw from Iraq. Regardless of whatever bullshit is said in our election, unless that country magically pacifies itself, we cannot stay in Iraq much longer. There will be bloodshed when we go, the only question is what heights will that bloodshed rise to be before the Sunni give up and the Shia reach an accomodation with them. Obviously supplying the Sunni with fresh infusions of arms will encourage them to prolong their battle with the majority Shia. If the fighting between Sunni and Shia reaches genocidal proportions in our wake, a level which shocks a world which believes it has already seen all the horror Iraq can offer, then our next President will face criticism, probably from the Republicans and certainly from the MSM, for having "lost Iraq" and there will be a massive effort to pin the blame for the humanitarian crisis and unending massacre on Bush's successor and the party of Bush's successor. (Expect to see comparisons of deaths in Iraq in the last 6 months of Bush's term versus the first 6 months of his successor's withdrawal phase--and expect to hear the corporate media to encourage you to find in yourself a new respect for "stern, sometimes harsh, often harshly criticized, but always bold and decisive" President Bush.) Of course that likely means the blame will be pinned on us since most people agree the next Pres will be a Democrat. The Democrats and those who were against the war from the start will be accused of leaving Iraq to tear itself apart nevermind the fact that Iraq will tear itself apart with the weapons Bush has supplied to both sides.

[acmavm]

3. Maliki just want us to arm Shi'ites. Hell, we're arming EVERYBODY.

Chaos and death are part of the plan. We get rid of every adult or post-pubescent male in Iraq and they have it made. There will be no oppostion to our 50-year rule (or until the oil is gone) in Iraq.

[pscot]

4. It's like we're setting them up

for the bloodiest possible conflagration after we pull out. And the repukes will blame the Democrats for loosing Iraq.

[maddezmom]

5. Shiites, Kurds wary of U.S.-Sunni teamwork

Shiites, Kurds wary of U.S.-Sunni teamwork

By Joshua Partlow
The Washington Post
Posted June 18 2007


BAGHDAD · Shiite and Kurdish officials expressed deep reservations on Sunday about the new U.S. military strategy to join with Sunni Arab groups to help defeat the militant organization al-Qaida in Iraq.

"They are trusting terrorists," said Ali Al Adeeb, a prominent Shiite lawmaker who was among many to question the loyalty of the Sunni groups. "They are trusting people who have previously attacked American forces and innocent people. They are trusting people who are loyal to the regime of Saddam Hussein."

Throughout Iraq, a growing number of Sunni groups profess to have turned against al-Qaida in Iraq because of its indiscriminate killing and repressive version of Islam. In some areas, these groups have provided information to Americans about al-Qaida members or the deadly explosives that target the soldiers.

The collaboration has progressed furthest in the western province of Anbar, where U.S. military commanders enlisted the help of Sunni tribal leaders to funnel their kinsmen into the police force by the thousands. In other areas, the local Sunnis have not been fully incorporated into the security services and exist for the time being as local militias.


more:http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sfl-airaqmain18jun18,0,2302197.story?track=rss