Militia 'madness' stirs
Iraq By Ali al-Fadhily and
Dahr Jamail
RAMADI, Iraq - Reports of
US-backed Sunni militias being organized have
brought new uncertainty to deepening chaos in
Iraq. Some Sunni leaders from troubled al-Anbar
province west of Baghdad recently met away from
their tribes to set up the new groups, according
to local reports.
These new militias have
received early praise from Iraqi Prime Minister
Nuri al-Maliki and US officials. However, they
could in fact undermine Maliki's four-point plan
to unite Shi'ite and Sunni
parties in his government
in an effort to end sectarian violence.
The United States had earlier called for
the disarming of all militias for the sake of
peace and reconciliation, but that policy has
clearly changed. The occupation forces now back
both Shi'ite and Sunni militias in different areas
of the country. These new groups are drawing
strong condemnation from other Sunni tribal
chiefs.
"They are a group of thieves who
are arming thieves, and this is something
dangerous and nasty," said Sheikh Sa'adoon, chief
of a large Sunni tribe near Khaldiyah city in
al-Anbar. "This only means we will have more
disturbances here, and it could create local civil
war."
Another tribal leader in the area,
speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "They
are only doing this in order to kill as many
Sunnis as possible, and this time with Sunni
hands." He said true tribal leaders should lead
any militias they form, rather than issue orders
from the Green Zone, the US and Iraqi government
enclave in Baghdad.
"Leaders should lead
their soldiers on the battlefield, but those
so-called sheikhs are well protected behind
concrete walls inside the dirty zone [Green
Zone]," he said. "How can they win a battle by
remote control?"
The controversial move
also appears to have brought widespread
condemnation from academics, Iraqi military
leaders and even Shi'ite politicians. "It is a new
way of making millions of dollars," said a
professor at al-Anbar University in Ramadi.
New Iraqi Army Brigadier-General Jassim
Rashid al-Dulaimi, from Anbar province, said: "I
cannot imagine 30,000 more guns in the Iraqi
field. I hope they will reject the idea. Iraq
needs more engineers and clean politicians to
solve the dilemma of the existing militias rather
than recruiting new ones to kill more Iraqis. The
idea sounds to me [like] turning the country into
a mercenary-recruitment center."
Shi'ite
leader Jaafar al-Assadi said the move would bring
more violence. "Al-Anbar will fight even more now
with the guns given to those fools," he said.
"They are surely going to sell their weapons to
the terrorists or surrender to them sooner or
later."
Some of these group leaders have
distanced themselves from the new militias. Sheikh
Hamid Muhanna, chief of the large tribe al-Bu
Alwan, appeared on Al-Jazeera television denying
the creation of such militias. He said he and the
other sheikhs were in control of their tribes, and
those who met with Maliki spoke for themselves
only.
The main Sunni religious group, the
Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS), remains
staunchly opposed to the occupation. "It is all in
the hands of the Americans; we are trying to cover
the sun with a piece of glass," said Sheikh Ahmed
of the AMS. "The occupation power is too strong
for any player to make a major change, and so we
should believe in our own capabilities without
dreaming of useful solutions from our enemy."
The association has consistently refused
to take part in Iraqi politics under US
occupation.
The new militias are riding on
the back of what is controversially referred to as
federalism, under which each group appears headed
its own way. Thafir al-Ani, official spokesman for
al-Tawafuq, a major Sunni parliamentary group,
resigned as chairman of a constitution committee
last week. "I would have had to take part in
dividing Iraq under the flag of federalism, which
would have put a mark in my history as one of
those who established the dividing of my country,"
he said.
The solutions being put forth
were all driven by personal and sectarian
interests, and failed to consider what was best
for the country, said Maki al-Nazzal, a political
analyst from Fallujah. "The change that could take
place is an Iraqi people's 'orange' revolution,
which could occur with all Iraqis, regardless of
their ID information," Nazzal said. "But that
would be very dangerous without international
protection to the people who would do it because
Iraqi rulers today, together with the US army,
could massacre demonstrators."
"Orange
Revolution" was the name given to public protests
across Ukraine in November 2004 against a
government and an election seen as illegitimate.
The revolution was widely believed to have had US
support.
A member of an Iraqi human-rights
organization said the United Nations must take a
stronger stand in Iraq. "The international
community must take its real role in the country,"
he said. "UNAMI's [UN Assistance Mission for Iraq]
hands are tied, and they are only monitoring the
disastrous situation without doing anything to
help stop the bleeding of Iraq."
