Shiites Are Abandoning Bush's Surge™

[wellst0nev0ter]

People keep forgetting that ANY success (if you count adding 8,000-troop escalation a sign of "success") that came from the Surge™ is only because the Shiites have been willfully cooperating with their beleaguered government. They have since engaged in a lopsided unilateral disarment against the Sunni militants. Now after suffering a series of spectacular attacks, they are now demanding that they take matters into their own hands:

BAGHDAD — Hundreds of Shiite Muslims, beating their chests in mourning, accompanied 17 coffins through Baghdad's main Shiite district Monday, demanding that militiamen be allowed to protect them after a wave of attacks on pilgrims.
"Despite the heavy security presence in Baghdad, we are seeing the terror and bombings escalate and more innocents being killed," said a man who identified himself by a traditional nickname, Abu Fatima Sadi. "When the Al Mahdi army was providing protection, there were no violations."

This year, the Al Mahdi militia, led by radical anti-American cleric Muqtada Sadr, held back from protecting millions of Shiite pilgrims making their way to the holy city of Karbala for weekend religious rites. The move came after intense pressure by the Shiite-led government to give a U.S.-Iraqi security plan a chance to succeed.

Attacks against Iraq's Shiite majority, however, have persisted despite the month-old crackdown, intended to clear the capital of sectarian fighters and anti-U.S. insurgents.

. . .More than 220 people were killed in the last week as Sunni Arab militants unleashed suicide bombers and gunfire on the Shiite pilgrims who converged in Karbala to mark the death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the prophet Muhammad.

Iraqi officials have reported a modest drop in recent weeks in the number of execution-style killings, which are considered to be a signature of the Al Mahdi militia.

Police recovered 11 bodies in Baghdad on Monday. Before the security plan was launched Feb. 13, the number often exceeded 30 a day.

But bomb blasts, mortar fire and other attacks have persisted, and at least 13 Iraqis were reported killed and dozens injured Monday. The U.S. military also announced the deaths of three U.S. personnel the previous day.

Some of the Shiite mourners at Monday's funeral complained that the decision to rein in the militiamen left them exposed to Sunni militants intent on reigniting sectarian fighting.

"This plan is not effective and has no results to show so far," said a man who gave his name as Abu Zahara Ghrayji. "You can see the evidence of the increasing bombings and terror every day."

He demanded that police work with the militiamen to protect Shiites at major gatherings.

:scared: :scared: :scared: