Shiite Militia Deploys Forces

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33025-2003Sep5.html

Dozens of armed men belonging to a militia loyal to Iraq's best-organized Shiite Muslim party deployed today in this sacred city, posing a challenge to U.S. forces that have vowed to disband them.

The Badr Brigade, a force of lightly armed fighters once said to number 10,000, was supposed to have been disarmed early in the U.S. occupation. But in the wake of the assassination last week of Ayatollah Mohammed Bakir Hakim, killed with scores of others in a car bombing outside the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, the brigade has returned to the streets of this southern city.

Men in black uniforms with armbands that read "Badr" in Arabic were visible throughout Najaf today. About a dozen were posted atop the shrine, the most sacred to Shiites in Iraq, and others manned checkpoints on roads leading to its grounds. Several pickup trucks, carrying men with Kalashnikov rifles, roamed the city's streets and the perimeter of the shrine.

"We don't depend on the Americans, we depend on ourselves," said Montadhir Naim, a 23-year-old militiaman.

[Cush]

1. oh, this great

what comes after: 'From bad to worse?' FUBAR?

[fizzana]

2. So the U.S. wants the Iraqis to take care of their own security

but when they actually take things into their own hands and do that, the U.S. wants to disarm them.

Welcome to Operation Enduring Stupidity.

[wabeewoman]

8. Exactly....

There was a great post on one of the Iraqi blogs about how the people were defending their neighborhoods and it was working and then the military came along and said anyone who was seen with a gun or out after dark would be shot. Now the criminals do as they please in the neighborhoods. Remember the self-proclaimed major of Bagdad who was getting things done until the US ran him out of town?? I really think the Iraqi people could do just fine without us. We should turn it over to the UN, let them facilitate and let the Iraqis rule themselves.

[MrPrax]

10. But according to Clark...

""Now we say to the United Nations, 'Hey, you've got to share in this burden,'" Clark told reporters. "Well we created it. George Bush created it and we have to pay for it. Anyone who thinks that the United Nations has the skills or capacity to create security in Iraq hasn't been around... the U.N. can't possibly handle the situation in Iraq and the U.S. knows it perfectly well."

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPentagon.asp?Page=/Pentagon/archive/200309/PEN20030904b.html

Apparantly the UN is capable of peacekeeping according to the esteemed Ramsey Clark...
I go for the shiites...

[lanlady]

13. Clark's right

The Busheviks in their desperation are putting the horse before the cart--the horse being the UN. How do you send peacekeepers to a region that is just about to disrupt into civil war? The UN cannot raise some sort of war-fighting force!

[Barrett808]

3. The balloon is going up

By the time Bush makes his speech on Sunday, things will be ever so much worse.

[sfwriter]

4. Holy Shiii-ite! EOM (with apologies...)

[NNN0LHI]

5. It won't get too interesting until the cival war begins

Which is coming very soon. Then who do we shoot at? Whos side will we be on? The Sunnis, the Kurds, the Shiites, or the Christians? I would not want to be the referee of that fight.

Don

[The Magistrate]

12. They Will All Be Against Us, Sir

In a civil war, attacks on U.S. and other foreign forces will be the principal means of bidding for popular support.

[fizzana]

6. I predict this spills over Iraq's borders in the next 3-6 months

and then the shit will fly. Are you ready for $3.00 a gallon for gas?

[NNN0LHI]

7. "$3.00 a gallon for gas" Ha ha ha. No offence at all

But if this time next year gas is 3 bucks a gallon we will be sitting on easy street. Think more. A lot more. If we are even allowed to buy it once in a while.

Don

[Rollins]

9. Token vow to disban the Shiites

I believe the US military has conceeded to allow the Shiite strong holds to remain in Shiite control while Baghdad and the government institutions shall remain in coalition control. This setup will be much like Afghanistan. Feel sorry for the Sunnis.

[expatriot]

11. only one problem...

...afghanistan's economy is built around warlordlism and enclavism but Iraq's economy is built around a highly centralized nation-state, if we force warlordism and a return to tribalism onto iraq, it won't be the 'business as usual' we have in afghanistan, we will have a social, demographic, economic, etc. massive time bomb that will wreak havoc on the whole region with refugees and other calamities...

[Rollins]

14. True, even with the sanctions the Irag infrastructure was highly evolved.

Especially when compared against other countries in the region however that is all past tense. The US has bombed Iraq quite extensively and though some of the people have decended into tribalism right now as soon as a strong group tries for control, i.e. the Shiites, the social,demographic and economic traits will be used again.

Democracy in the Middle East is an American fantasy that will not happen in the near future because it looks as if many people in the Middle East are more comfortable living under their present system of government. Besides maybe they can see how we are getting screwed by the greedy and want no part of what we call "democracy".

The Shiites will not be warlords like in Afghanistan but more like the ones in Iran where they have control of much of the government.

Be interesting to see if Bush and Bremer negotiate a political deal with the Shiites.

[msmcghee]

15. Good observations

I'd add my own theory that rule by warlord is the default government type for all human societies - that don't conciously choose to organize a democratic form of government to transcend that default state. The only difference between these forms is just how large a population the warlord can subjugate - based on his wealth, technolgy, organizational skills (and ruthlessness).

I know it seems far-fetched but I think it concievable that our country could devolve back to that state - thanks to the neo-cons.

The elections of 2000 were the first step in that direction. There are millions of guns in this country. There are many far right militias - organized in the hills of Idaho, Utah and Montana at this moment.