Key U.S. Ally Killed in Iraq

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Newsweek

America lost one of its most effective and colorful Iraqi allies in a roadside bomb blast Sunday. Gen. Qais Hamza Aboud, police chief for the Babil province, was killed in the midday attack on his convoy. Qais, who American officers sometimes called "The Godfather," was a Shiite Muslim known for cracking down on Shiite militias and criminal gangs as well as going after Sunni insurgents. His brash charisma – including his salty language and affinity for Jack Daniels whiskey - was recently described in a story about Iraqi warlords by NEWSWEEK's Kevin Peraino.

Qais had consolidated control of the security services in the province, a key crossroads region south of Baghdad. The former car salesman had used American backing to build his 800-man Scorpion force and assassins had already targeted him several times. He also faced down powerful figures in the central government as he took on militias with powerful friends.

His death shakes the region and the American forces' strategy there. The area is known as a transit point for Al Qaida militants into Baghdad and a breeding ground for Shiite militias. Sunday evening, a curfew was placed on the city of Hilla, the provincial capital near where the attack took place. Just hours before the attack, U.S. officers cited Qais as a symbol of progress. "Right now I see amazing momentum at the local level. Let's just focus in on Gen. Qais and the Babil police," said Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, who praised him for going after insurgents no matter their sect. Gen. Qais will be a hard man to replace.



Read more: http://www.blog.newsweek.com/blogs/ov/archive/2007/12/09/key-u-s-ally-killed-in-iraq.aspx

[saigon68]

1. Looks like another puppet Quisling "Bites the Dust"

Looks like a Civil War to me

[Fovea]

2. Former Car Salesman.

I think that there is a lesson here, for someone who wants to see it.

[saigon68]

3. used American backing to build his 800-man Scorpion force

Another Thug with his own private army of Gangsters

Dancing to Gangster Cheney's corporate tune.

[Fovea]

6. While the mercs are tactically superior in many situations

they are a strategic C-F. Politicans and businesspeople (assuming there is a difference these days) use them in ways that military commanders shudder at.
The are a personification of hubris. I see things ending badly for the Blackwaters of the world.

[saigon68]

7. some day soon

A few of these "civilian thugs" will be lined up against some wall and shot dead.

[Robbien]

4. Sounds as if this little dictator is the same as the other dictators the US supports

With his 800 man hit squad, terror and oppression must have ruled in the city.

[tabasco]

5. A criminal "godfather" is a natural ally of the Bush oil mafia.

Sometimes a bit of the truth slips out.

The US administration and occupation of Iraq is a huge criminal enterprise, greatly enriching the Bush/Cheney profiteering cronies.