Iraqi leader drops protection of militia

[DoYouEverWonder]

Jan 21, 2007

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's prime minister has dropped his protection of the feared Shiite militia of a radical anti-American cleric after U.S. intelligence convinced him the group was infiltrated by death squads whose actions were isolating him in the Arab world and among moderates at home, two officials said Sunday.

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"Al-Maliki realized he couldn't keep defending the Mahdi Army because of the information and evidence that the armed group was taking part in the killings, displacing people and violating the state's sovereignty," said one official. Both he and a second government official who confirmed the account refused to be identified by name because the information was confidential.

"The Americans don't act on rumors but on accurate intelligence. There are many intelligence agencies acting on the ground, and they know what's going on," said the second official, confirming the Americans had given al-Maliki overwhelming evidence about the Mahdi Army's deep involvement in the sectarian slaughter. Both officials are intimately aware of the prime minister's thinking.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070121/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

[Eugene]

1. Great, Maliki is our puppet after all. Let's see how long he keeps his job.

Maliki was really late in acknowledging the obvious.

Even if his Shi'ite backers in Parliament don't dump him,
he will have one hell of a time asserting the government's
authority over militia-infiltrated security forces.