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AFPWASHINGTON (AFP) - Coalition commander General David Petraeus said Sunday there were "legitimate concerns" about a new US tactic in Iraq of arming Sunni insurgents against Al-Qaeda extremists.
But speaking on Fox News after criticism of the tactic from Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Petraeus said it was still a viable way of pressing the fight in Iraq against Al-Qaeda.
Asked if the US-supplied weapons could later be turned on US forces or Shiite Muslims, the general said: "Well, those are legitimate concerns, and we have the same concerns."
But he said that US military commanders were trying to vet their new local allies "as best we can" through compiling biometric data and keeping track of weapons serial numbers.
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In comments published Saturday by Newsweek magazine, Maliki warned that the new US tactic was "dangerous because this will create new militias."
"I believe that the coalition forces do not know the backgrounds of the tribes. It is a job of the (Iraqi) government," he added.
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Iraq deployment could last a decade: USThe US commander in Iraq says American troops could be needed in the country for a decade to battle insurgents.
General David Petraeus has told Fox News there is broad recognition that Iraq's daunting challenges will not be resolved "in a year or even two years".
"In fact, typically, I think historically, counter-insurgency operations have gone at least nine or 10 years," he said.
General Petraeus was responding to a question about whether US forces could face a Korea-style deployment in Iraq for decades.
He said any long-term deployment would depend on whether the Iraqi Government wanted to extend the US military presence.
"I'm not sure what the right analogy is, whether it's Korea or what have you," he said.
But he emphasised that a long-term security arrangement was "probably a fairly realistic assessment".
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http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200706/s1953696.htmU.S. should stop arming Sunni militias - PM MalikiBAGHDAD, 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.
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http://wap.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/COL751037.htm