Key U.S. Iraq Strategy in Danger of Collapse

[Hissyspit]

Source: McClatchy Newspapers

Key U.S. Iraq strategy in danger of collapse
By Leila Fadel, McClatchy Newspapers
Wed Aug 20, 5:58 PM ET
BAGHDAD — A key pillar of the U.S. strategy to pacify Iraq is in danger of collapsing because the Iraqi government is failing to absorb tens of thousands of former Sunni Muslim insurgents who'd joined U.S.-allied militia groups into the country's security forces.

American officials have credited the militias, known as the Sons of Iraq or Awakening councils, with undercutting support for the group al Qaida in Iraq and bringing peace to large swaths of the country, including Anbar province and parts of Baghdad . Under the program, the United States pays each militia member a stipend of about $300 a month and promised that they'd get jobs with the Iraqi government. But the Iraqi government, which is led by Shiite Muslims, has brought only a relative handful of the more than 100,000 militia members into the security forces. Now officials are making it clear that they don't intend to include most of the rest.

- snip -

He said the army was considering setting a Nov. 1 deadline for those militia members who hadn't been absorbed into the security forces or given civilian jobs to give up their weapons. After that, they'd be arrested, he said. Some militia members say that such a move would force them into open warfare with the government again.

"If they disband us now, I will tell you that history will show we will go back to zero," said Mullah Shahab al Aafi, a former emir, or leader, of insurgents in Diyala province who's the acting commander of 24,000 Sons of Iraq there, 11,000 of whom are on the U.S. payroll. "I will not give up my weapons. I will never give them up, and I will carry my weapon again. If it is useless to talk to the government, I will be forced to carry my weapons and my pistol."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20080820/wl_mcclatchy/3023449

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[Muttocracy]

1. so, are we due for another surge?

:sarcasm:

[WheelWalker]

6. Yep. One scourge, coming up.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

2. Ahh look at all the wisdom at work. Sure glad we brought them

freedom and justice for all.

[TwilightGardener]

3. Guess we'll be bribing them forever now with the Thug Welfare Program.

[Miss Chybil]

8. Yes, it's best that we give welfare over there

so, we won't have to give it here.

/sarcasm

[ClayZ]

4. K and R

[LynnTheDem]

5. " U.S. strategy to pacify Iraq ..."

Good luck with that.

Rightwingnuts; truly the stupidest MFers ever.

[WheelWalker]

7. I think this has been Joe Biden's prognostication all along.

[WCGreen]

9. Yea, but he has bad hair plugs...

WE can't listen to him...

[WheelWalker]

10. Oh, yea.....right. * Duh * I totally spaced that out. Just another senior moment.

[Voltaire99]

11. "Pacify": sounds like Nam all over again

Such imperial arrogance led to over 2 million being exterminated.

The least McClatchy Newspapers could do is find a new euphemism for US gangsterism.

[OregonBlue]

12. Civil war in Iraq to begin Nov. 2nd. We armed the Sunni militias, now the Shia won't

agree to take them in and may set a deadline for them to turn in their weapons of November 1st. Funny how that works out so the civil war will begin right after the elections!!!

[Hissyspit]

13. .