Surge Politics

So now that the surge is underway will Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki make good on his promise to crack down equally on all perpetrators of violence, whether they be Sunni or Shia? Not so says Joshua Partlow in today's Washington Post:

Iraqi and U.S. forces should not launch a military offensive against the militias -- most of them Shiite -- that are a major source of turmoil in Iraq, but should instead rely on nonviolent steps to bring militiamen into the political fold, according to an Iraqi report that draws largely on the views of prominent Shiite politicians.

"In the short-term at least, there can be no military offensive against the militias. Military confrontation, in the current climate, will only strengthen their appeal and swell their ranks," the Baghdad Institute for Public Policy Research concludes.

The institute said the 18-page report, "Dismantling Iraq's Militias," was based on a round-table discussion by six Shiite politicians, two Kurds and a Sunni Arab. Government officials said Thursday it would be considered in setting policy, but some here saw it as reflecting the private thinking of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as more U.S. troops arrive to try to end the violence.

Maliki has publicly declared that the joint effort will target all lawbreakers equally, regardless of sectarian affiliation. But late last year, his advisers said the prime minister was urging the Americans to combat Sunni groups while Iraqi forces focused on Shiite militias.

Or to put it another way, Maliki and his supporters want American troops to do the dirty work of sidelining the Sunnis while he consolidates Shia hegemony over Iraq. Anyone else think American troops shouldn't be dying for this?

Posted by Kingston