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Hurdles Stall Plan For Iraqi Recruits
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Nov 12, 2007 01:44pm |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - Washington Post |
| News Date | Monday, November 12, 2007 07:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Shiite Leadership Wary of Bringing Fighters Into Ranks
By Joshua Partlow and Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, November 12, 2007; Page A01
BAGHDAD -- The U.S. effort to organize nearly 70,000 local fighters to solidify security gains in Iraq is facing severe political and logistical challenges as U.S.-led forces struggle to manage the recruits and the central government resists incorporating them into the Iraqi police and army, according to senior military officials.
Gen. David H. Petraeus and other top commanders have hailed the initiative to enlist Iraqi tribes and former insurgents in the battle against extremist groups, but leaders of Iraq's Shiite-dominated government have feared that the local fighters known as "volunteers" -- more than 80 percent of whom are Sunni -- could eventually mount an armed opposition, Iraqi and U.S. officials said.
In some cases, the government has confined the fighters to their headquarters or local mosques. Nevertheless, the volunteers pour in by the hundreds every week, forming a massive but cumbersome force lacking common guidelines, status, pay or uniforms. The effort represents an opportunity to shore up local police and eventually relieve U.S. troops, but one that could prove fleeting or backfire if the volunteers are not organized quickly, officials said. |
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