Militias said to represent threat to civil order but fill a power vacuum

[Judi Lynn]

Militias said to represent threat to civil order but fill a power vacuum

SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press Writer Wednesday, January 7, 2004

(01-07) 23:23 PST KUFA, Iraq (AP) --

When the gasoline supplies ran low here, tempers got short and the lines at filling stations grew long. Angry motorists brawled with police until a private militia run by a Shiite religious leader restored order.

U.S. officials consider such militias a threat to long-term public order and would prefer to see them absorbed into the national security organizations being formed by the American-led coalition.

However, the militias, some of them run by ethnic and religious groups that the Americans are cultivating, have stepped in to fill a void created by the collapse of Saddam's regime and the difficulties faced by the U.S. military in maintaining order nationwide.

The four major militias include the Badr Brigade and the Imam Mahdi Army, each run by rival Shiite Muslim groups. Kurds from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party operate armed groups known collectively as the peshmarga.
(snip/...)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/01/07/international0223EST0431.DTL

[necso]

1. They do both.

Militias do represent a threat to civil order (other than their own) and yet do fill a vacuum of power on the street.

Along with the major militias are others representing extremist elements and personal agendas (such as Chalabi's). The involvement of some of these groups in the revenge killings of former Bathist officials and others is suspected (so much for civil order).

Let's face it, it is a mess over there. How a stable nation is going to be formed out of this is anybody's guess.

How did we ever get into this situation? A mere decade or so ago, republicans (I was one then) were wise enough to stay out of this kind of cr_p. (We laughed at the neocons' naivety then.) Now, one gets the feeling that it is merely lack of resources that keeps us from engaging in more of the same.

It is a fine pickle that we are in. Too bad more people cannot or will not see it.

[el_gato]

2. the historical record of the past 60 years

from support of the shah in iran etc.

imperial meddling from the U.K. and U.S. has been long and foolish

[slackmaster]

3. LOL - I thought this was about Arizona or Idaho

But it's about Iraq.

Never mind!

:evilgrin:

[jmcgowanjm]

4. I also/ thought an OK politician was fishing for votes