US will hand Iraqis control of Karbala

[ProSense]

US will hand Iraqis control of Karbala

By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer 41 minutes ago

BAGHDAD - U.S. forces will turn over security to Iraqi authorities in the southern Shiite province of Karbala on Monday, the American commander for the area said, despite fighting between rival militia factions that has killed dozens.

Karbala will become only the eighth of Iraq's 18 provinces to revert to Iraqi control, despite President Bush's prediction in January that the Iraqi government would have responsibility for security in all of the provinces by November.

But the target date has slipped repeatedly, highlighting the difficulties in developing Iraqi police forces and the slow pace of economic and political progress in areas still troubled by daily violence.

A bomb struck a mainly Shiite town southeast of Baghdad on Saturday for the second time in less than a week, the deadliest attack on a day in which at least 23 people were killed or found dead.

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[MADem]

1. You mean they will hand Shi'ites control of Karbala...because there won't be a Sunni

in that mix at all. And the Shi'a militias will snipe at each other until they either merge into a single militia or one side is so weakened they just give up and say fuck it. The US is gettin' while the gettin's good:

More recently, Karbala has been a focal point for rising tensions throughout the mainly Shiite south among rival groups maneuvering for power over the oil-rich area that also profits from religious tourism.

But Lynch, who commands a volatile mix of Sunni and Shiite areas south of Baghdad, said the Iraqis were ready to take over.

"They've established a Karbala operations command that works with the Iraqi prime minister, and when security problems arise it's the Iraqi solution to the problem, not the coalition solution to the problem," he said.

The provincial police chief, Brig. Gen. Raed Shakir, said more than 10,000 Iraqi security forces were "fully prepared" to maintain order.

"During the past days, our forces were able to confront and chase armed groups without the help of the multinational forces. We were able to restore security by our own. This shows that we can work independently from the multinational forces," he said.

Wonder how many militiamen are also wearing the uniform of the Iraqi Security Forces???

[ProSense]

2. You know, that's

exactly what it means:

Iraq Is Criticized for Slow Hire of Police: Sunnis Often Passed Over, General Says

U.S. commander in Iraq: Sectarian bias limits police

Facts about Iraq:

The government is Shiite, and they don't want to share power.

The Mehdi army is running things in major parts of the country.

Sectarian violence continues.