Matt Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 Frustrated Iraqis ready to take law into own hands BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqis have begun barricading themselves in their homes and forming neighborhood militias in an effort to fend off relentless suicide attacks, residents in the capital said on Monday. The measures come amid waning confidence in the Iraqi police and other security forces as they struggle to get on top of the two-year-old insurgency. In the latest attack, 98 people were killed by a suicide truck bomb south of Baghdad on Saturday. A senior member of Iraq's parliament on Sunday called for popular militias to be created as an extra line of defense against the militants, and criticized the government for failing to stop the bombs. "The plans of the interior and defense ministries to impose security in Iraq have failed," Khudair al-Khuzai told parliament during a heated session following the latest blast. "We need to bring back popular militias," he said, without expanding. While there was some backing for his proposal, there are concerns militias formed along sectarian lines could lead the country ever closer to civil war, with Shi'ite and Sunni Arabs already involved in ######-for-tat killings. Despite that fear, local militias have already been formed in several Baghdad areas, and at least two Shi'ite political movements have their own powerful private armies. In the Sadiya district in the south of the capital, residents have introduced a neighborhood watch program which involves men armed with pistols and AK-47s walking the streets from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. on alert for attackers. They carry a piece of paper signed by the Iraqi army granting them permission to carry out the patrols. In several other districts residents have blocked off streets with the trunks of chopped-down palm trees, or with large concrete flower pots, to try to stop suicide car bombers. http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/story....0&w=RTR&coview= and Weekend of slaughter propels Iraq towards all-out civil warFrom James Hider in Baghdad IRAQ is slipping into all-out civil war, a Shia leader declared yesterday, as a devastating onslaught of suicide bombers slaughtered more than 150 people, most of them Shias, around the capital at the weekend. One bomber killed almost 100 people when he blew up a fuel tanker south of Baghdad, an attack aimed at snapping Shia patience and triggering the full-blown sectarian war that al-Qaeda has been trying to foment for almost two years. Iraq?s security forces have been overwhelmed by the scale of the suicide bombings ? 11 on Friday alone and many more over the weekend ? ordered by the Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqa?What is truly happening, and what shall happen, is clear: a war against the Shias,? Sheikh Jalal al-Din al-Saghir, a prominent Shia cleric and MP, told the Iraqi parliament. ment. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly...08-6047,00.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zh3n Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 Good...I'm glad they are ready to take things in their own hands. I'm sure many families in the US will be happy to have their loved ones home,from being killed everyday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LispyGlitter2 Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 The US military won't see this as a step unfortunatly. I think the sooner we get out of Iraq, the better. However, Bush has vowed that we'll stay there until they can govern themselves. Well, I'm not expert on freign relations, but the racist language that has come out of the administration lately says that they want to be in Iraq for a very long time because they feel the Iraqis are less human and less democratic and need to be shown "the way to freedom". Blah. Bush can stick it up his ass. The Iraqis will fight, Soldiers will revolt (Kevin Benderman, Pablo Paredes), and the world will cry out. Get the **** out of Iraq, Bush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evis Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 The US military won't see this as a step unfortunatly. I think the sooner we get out of Iraq, the better. However, Bush has vowed that we'll stay there until they can govern themselves. Well, I'm not expert on freign relations, but the racist language that has come out of the administration lately says that they want to be in Iraq for a very long time because they feel the Iraqis are less human and less democratic and need to be shown "the way to freedom". Blah. Bush can stick it up his ass. The Iraqis will fight, Soldiers will revolt (Kevin Benderman, Pablo Paredes), and the world will cry out. Get the **** out of Iraq, Bush. 586233413[/snapback] You definately aren't. We don't want to leave Iraq too soon because we know for a fact the Iraqi Coalition government cannot last on it's own against the Insurgents. We've been there for so long we might as well stick with it for however much longer it is until the Iraqi Coalition can manage on their own. No what the Administration is saying isn't racist, it's the plain truth, the Iraqi government over there needs our help to fulfill their role not because their less human or are less democratic but because they are working under difficult circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.nudd Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 You definately aren't. We don't want to leave Iraq too soon because we know for a fact the Iraqi Coalition government cannot last on it's own against the Insurgents. We've been there for so long we might as well stick with it for however much longer it is until the Iraqi Coalition can manage on their own. No what the Administration is saying isn't racist, it's the plain truth, the Iraqi government over there needs our help to fulfill their role not because their less human or are less democratic but because they are working under difficult circumstances. 586236103[/snapback] Along with being in difficult circumstances, they're very inexperienced because this is new to the Iraqi people. [bad analogy] It's somewhat like training wheels on a bike. You need to kind of figure out how everyhting works, build up strength. After a certain period of time, they will be ready to govern themselves and we can pull out.[/bad analogy] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guru Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 good news... high time if you ask me... may be people can work for/enforce terrorist / insurgent free neighborhoods - atleast the reconstructiion - electriciy/water/houses etc could be repaired/rebiult much quicker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diffused Mind Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 If you close off Iraq from the rest of the world, just let the problem solve itself. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolando Posted July 25, 2005 Share Posted July 25, 2005 And what do we say? Thank you America for your liberation ! I can see the Iraqi war was very purposeful (Y) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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