New Iraq interior minister vows no more militias

[ECH1969]

Iraq's new interior minister vowed on Wednesday to disband powerful militias tied to political parties and improve the country's human rights record.

Sitting alongside the defence minister in a televised news conference, Jawad al-Bolani promised he would not repeat the mistakes of the past, when many Iraqis associated his predecessor with militia death squads, a charge he denied.

"We have measures and are re-evaluating what happened and we have tactical ways to remedy the mistakes that happened in certain times and places," said Bolani.

Aside from battling al Qaeda militants and Saddam Hussein loyalists leading the raging insurgency, Maliki has also promised to disband militias, widely seen by Iraqis as more powerful than state security forces.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GEO451226.htm

[shain from kane]

1. How will the security forces take their guns, without creating more

insurgents, or terrorists, or escalate the civil war? The weapons depots that the troops ignored while securing the Oil Ministry will come back to haunt them.

>>>"...widely seen by Iraqis as more powerful than state security forces."<<<

[neoblues]

2. More powerful...

and more motivated. The IRAQIs need a literally gigantic "security force", but even controlling their arms, I'm not sure how the "U.S." would like it if IRAQ assembled the needed numbers (say, for instance, a half-a-million man police/guard force).

Want to move the country permanently ahead into the realm of Democracy and reduce the oppressive effect of Islam in the country? Create that half-million man security force, but do it with at least half composed of women (better yet, a strong majority of women). They'd stop the violence, and the IRAQI men/Muslim leaders would never be able to put the Genie (or Genii/Genies) back in the bottle! :rofl: But it still seems like a good idea to me... (and, transport them out of the country for training too... why not provide the best available law enforcement training available in a worldwide effort, while simultaneously exposing these women to western women/society)

In any case, it's going to take a truly large force to disarm the country--it has to be able to clamp down on a city, shut it down and thoroughly search from door to door throughout the whole country. During that and thereafter it will still need to be composed of local people, familiar with language, customs and the locality equipped with quality law inforcement/investigational skills and in such numbers as to be an omnipresent, ubiquitous presence... Every IRAQI should be able to dial 911 (another number please) and have substantial trustworthy security force response at their door in a handful of minutes--likewise, they should be able to call such a force--in every town nationwide--to report anything suspicious.

The country CAN be secured, it's just going to take a real effort--a hell of alot more than anything so far proposed.

[Tempest]

3. Good luck with that

And the Maliki death watch begins.

There is no way in hell he can make good on this promise.

He's learning from Bush. Make grand announcements, do nothing and then pretend you never made the announcement.

[lumpy]

5. Must be he's relying on those 50thousand

US troops that will remain in Iraq to sacrifice themselves for GWB's idea of freedom and democracy for all. Saddam had better control than anyone since the invasion; maybe this guy will be using Saddam's method of control, sounds like.

[AlCzervik]

4. ok then, let us know how that works out for you.