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A Standoff in Central Baghdad
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Mar 30, 2009 11:08pm |
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| Category | Commentary |
| News Date | Tuesday, March 31, 2009 05:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | By Brian Katulis | March 30, 2009
The standoff between two U.S. “allies” this weekend in the heart of Baghdad is a harbinger of things to come in Iraq. The showdown between Iraq’s central government security forces and members of Sunni militias, known as "Awakenings," had nothing to do with the size of the U.S. troop presence in Iraq and almost everything to do with enduring tensions in Iraq—multiple struggles for power between competing Iraqi factions.
Some may use this flare-up of violence in central Baghdad as an argument that U.S. troops should stay in Iraq longer than the date agreed upon by the Bush administration and the Maliki government last year. Some might also try to argue that the troop drawdown announced by President Barack Obama—which is very much in line with what the Iraqi government got the Bush administration to agree to before leaving office—should not continue. But leaving troops in Iraq would be the wrong thing to do for both Iraq and the United States’ long-term interests.
What happened this weekend in central Baghdad between Iraqi security forces and members of the Sunni Awakening groups was not unexpected, in large part because many of the tactics used in the 2007 “surge” of U.S. forces built a shaky and unstable foundation. Violence broke out in the central Baghdad neighborhood of Fadhil—just a few miles north of the Green Zone—when Iraqi troops backed by U.S. forces arrested Adil Mashadani, an “Awakening” militia leader on charges of terrorist and sectarian crimes. According to news reports, Mashadani allegedly maintained ties with Al Qaeda forces, helped plan roadside bombing attacks against Iraqi security forces, and ran an extortion racket that squeezed Fadhil residents for tens of thousands of dollars. |
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