Monday, November 27, 2006
U.S.-backed Sunni militias rumoured
Security, Tribal
Reports of the setting up of U.S.-backed Sunni militias have brought new uncertainty to deepening chaos within Iraq.Some Sunni leaders from the troubled al-Anbar province west of Baghdad recently met away from their tribes to set up new militias, according to local reports. These new armed groups have received early praise from Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and U.S. officials. The United States had earlier called for the disarming of all militias for the sake of social peace and reconciliation, but that policy has clearly changed. The occupation forces now back both Shia and Sunni militias in different areas of the country. These new groups are drawing strong condemnation from other Sunni tribal chiefs.
The controversial move appears to have brought widespread condemnation also from academics, Iraqi military leaders, and even Shia politicians. "It is a new way of making millions of dollars," a professor at al-Anbar University in Ramadi told IPS. Some of these group leaders have distanced themselves from the new militias. Sheikh Hamid Muhanna, chief of the large tribe al-Bu Alwan appeared on al-Jazeera denying the creation of such militia. He said he and the other sheikhs are in control of their tribes, and those who met al-Maliki speak for themselves only.
The new militias are riding the back of what is controversially referred to as federalism, under which each group appears headed its own way. Thafir al-Ani, official spokesman for al-Tawafuq, a major Sunni parliamentary group, resigned as chairman of a constitution committee last week. "I would have had to take part in dividing Iraq under the flag of federalism, which would have put a mark in my history as one of those who established the dividing of my country," he said. The solutions being put forth are all driven by personal and sectarian interests, and fail to consider what is best for the country, Maki al-Nazzal, political analyst from Fallujah told IPS.
