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Market bombings: Baghdad locals want security, not Iraqi police
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| Contributor | RP |
| Last Edited | RP Feb 08, 2008 01:41pm |
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| Category | General |
| Media | Newspaper - Christian Science Monitor |
| News Date | Monday, February 4, 2008 07:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | "We are an independent state; no police or army is allowed to come in," proclaims Khalid Jamal al-Qaisi, deputy leader of the US military-backed and predominantly Sunni Arab militia in charge of security in the old Baghdad neighborhood of Al-Fadhil.
Qaisi says his men could have prevented Friday's bombings. He says the attacks only bolster his conviction that Iraq's security forces, both Army and police, are infiltrated by militias and insurgents and riddled with sectarian biases. He says his men do not recognize the authority of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and won't join the security forces under such conditions. Some neighborhood guards, called Concerned Local Citizens are slated to join the Army and police.
Analysts warn that Friday's bombings show that Al Qaeda-linked militants appear to be exploiting the mish-mash of security arrangements in the capital that has US-funded Sunni guards, Shiite militias, and government forces all operating in a climate of mistrust in the absence of any meaningful political solutions. It also highlights the long-term limitations of the US surge strategy, credited for stemming sectarian bloodshed and dramatically reducing violence over the past year.
"It's very dangerous, what's happening.... If this is not handled right, it could really backfire," says Joost Hiltermann, an Istanbul-based analyst with the International Crisis Group. "These groups are truly antagonistic. If the Americans pull out, they will start fighting each other unless there is political accommodation and power-sharing arrangements at the top." |
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