WP: US backed Sunni militias are using Saddam tactics in controlling neighborhoods

[sabra]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/07/AR2008010703514_2.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2008010703546

<snip>

Riyadh Hadi is the field commander of the Lions of Adhamiyah, the Awakening force in a middle-class Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad. Tall with a long, goateed face, the 37-year-old Hadi said he commands 1,400 fighters, 700 of whom receive a $300 monthly salary from the U.S. military.

He described himself only as a metalworker and "a son of Adhamiyah" who rose up against al-Qaeda in Iraq after the group killed his brother. Residents and insurgents said he is a former Baathist who was a member of several militant groups, including the 1920 Revolution Brigades, which once had strong links to al-Qaeda in Iraq.

...

One day last month, Hadi's men were stationed at nearly every intersection. They checked vehicles at the entrances to the neighborhood, which was protected by tall blast walls. Elsewhere the fighters were much less visible. "Under Saddam Hussein, there was no army in the streets. He used intelligence men, his Baathists, he was controlling everything, like what we are doing now," Hadi said.

...

"We rely on ourselves to protect our community," said one of Hadi's fighters, Abu Omar, 42, eyes twinkling through his oval glasses. "This is the best we Sunnis can hope for under this government."

Last week, Hadi's men attempted to stop Iraqi army troops from conducting house raids with U.S. troops, prompting a firefight.

:eyes:

[sam sarrha]

1. the solution has always been "Intelligence".. but Bu$h has none

[fed-up]

2. Blackwater pay-$10K a month, Iraqis-$300 ......nt

[spanone]

3. can anyone remind me why we invaded Iraq??????

now junior is scrambling to the Mid-East in search of a legacy....bwahahahahahahaa