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Iraq's Sunni Militias Placed Under Control of Baghdad's Shiite-Led Government

According to a Pentagon report delivered to members of Congress yesterday, violence in Iraq is down 77 percent from this time last year. The reasons are varied and complex. There's the much-lauded "surge," of course. There's Moqtada al-Sadr's decision to call a ceasefire. There's the natural combat fatigue that follows years of intense violence. And, perhaps most importantly, there's the decision by local Sunni tribesman to stop killing Americans and start killing Islamic extremists. Thanks to their change of heart (however temporary and politically calculated it may be) violence in Anbar has waned and for the first time in years its villages are secure and its roads passable.

All of this is great news. But forgive me for expressing some trepidation at this morning's reports that the U.S. military, as part of its plan to disengage from Iraq, has agreed to transfer control of the Sunni militias to the Shiite-dominated government of Nouri al-Malaki. Until now, Sunni tribesmen have received stipends... a little extra encouragement, if you will... from the U.S. government. But beginning October 31, the 54,000 Sunni militiamen in the Baghdad area will be on Baghdad's payroll to the tune of $15 million a month.

Posted by Bruce Falconer on 10/01/08 at 8:35 AM | Comments (0) | Email | Print

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