Source:
Washington PostLearning to Live With the Mahdi Army
By Karin Brulliard
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 10, 2007; A01
BAGHDAD -- No, there have been no problems, the police commander was telling the armor-laden American soldiers squeezed into his office in the vast Shiite enclave of Sadr City. Except, he said, for the text-messaged death threats he often received from militia members.
Suddenly the meeting was interrupted by a loud mortar blast, followed by another explosion. A third, thunderous boom rattled the room, sending ripples through the yellow curtains and bringing the U.S. soldiers to their feet.
...
But soldiers with a U.S. military police unit that has provided police training and patrols in Sadr City for most of the past 10 months said the Mahdi Army disrupts their efforts every day. Most of the Iraqi police they train are either affiliated with the militia or intimidated by it, the soldiers said. At worst, they said, militia infiltration in the police might be behind attacks on Americans, even though Iraqi officials offered assurances that the Mahdi Army was lying low.
...
The soldiers said they do not know which police officers are involved with the Mahdi Army. Their Iraqi interpreters, who also serve as cultural barometers, tell the soldiers that all the police officers are.
"That's why they're still alive," said interpreter "Adam" Abdul Kareem, 29, who uses a false first name and covers his face to conceal his identity while working.
Outside, the U.S. soldiers asked some policemen to accompany them on a patrol. The Iraqis initially refused, saying they would be kidnapped by the Mahdi Army if seen with the Americans. Mixon insisted. So they tagged along in a beat-up SUV -- placed second in the convoy, Hansen explained, so they could not lead the Americans into a trap.
...
Staff Sgt. Jesse Benskin, 24, fumed. The car bomb, he said, was the work of Mahdi militiamen fed information by Iraqis at the station. Benskin said they all made phone calls right after the blast, which he read as a sign they were reporting results to the attackers. "In my opinion, they're not really holding back," Benskin said of the Mahdi Army.
"I see a whole lot of money and a whole lot of American lives on the line," he said. "Two weeks after we leave, it's going to go back to the way it was."
...
Read more:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/09/AR2007040901321.html?hpid=topnews
Sorry if that's a bit more than 4 paragraphs, but damn. Read the whole article.
Don't be fooled by the bland headline. The Iraqi security forces ARE the militias, and they are attacking our troops!
We were supposed to turn Iraq over to native security forces by now, but look at what is happening. From "as they stand up we'll stand down," we went to "Iraqis will take the lead," but not only are they not taking the lead, they are infiltrated by militia and are totally untrustworthy, actually co-ordinating attacks against us! And Petreus the Genius has our troops shacking up with them! All because of one man's idiocy.
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