U.S. and allied troops have arrested top-ranking and rank-and-file militia members during operations over the past several months, Petraeus said. Coalition forces are engaged in a major plan, devised in part by Petraeus, to limit sectarian and insurgent violence in Baghdad.
Yet the need for the protection they provided to Shia neighborhoods has not disappeared:
Fighting between Sunnis and Shiites has declined in some parts of Baghdad in recent weeks, the Pentagon has said, but Sunni insurgents have not slowed their bombings and other attacks. Sunday, a car bomb struck Shiite pilgrims in Karbala, killing at least 32.
I've wanted the killers stopped and the true militias regularized as a local defense force. Which calls for treating the militias not as a whole, but according to what they do.
General Petraeus seems to hint that something like that could be formed:
"Over time the Mahdi Army, as with all the militias, has to be disarmed, demobilized and reintegrated into society in some fashion," Petraeus said. The militia will not be allowed to join the Iraqi security forces as an organization, he said.
And discussions are going on:
"I think in part one reason that al-Sadr's militia has been lying low … is due to some of the discussions being held," Petraeus said in a telephone interview from Iraq. "It's also in part due to some of the leaders leaving Baghdad" and others being arrested, he said.
Yes, ultimately, the militias have to be eliminated. But how long does "over time" mean? In the short run, they provide a needed service. Is this what the discussions are addressing?
And yes, letting the militias join the official security forces as an organization is a problem. You can't just decree a militia an official local defense force and call the problem solved. But this doesn't appear to rule out the incorporation of militia members into security forces set up by the government. Could we form local defense forces and then recruit out of the militias? Pay them, equip them, lead them, and supervise them?
We don't want the Shia death squads. We need the Shias to defend themselves. But we don't want forces loyal to Iran or Sadr doing the protecting. And we sure as heck don't need to be blamed for every jihadi car bomb that goes off in a Shia neighborhood because Shias believe we won't let them defend themselves.
We need Local Defense Forces in Iraq. And peeling militia members away from Sadr is the way to build such a force.
UPDATE: Although Major General Caldwell is upbeat about early signs of overall violence declines, there is an important exception that highlights the need to protect the Shias:
While Caldwell's assessment was largely positive, he expressed concern about a spike last week in the number of what he called "high-profile" car bombings.
"If the high-profile car bombs can be stopped or brought down to a much lower level, we'll just see an incredible difference in the city overall. Murders and executions have come down by over 50 percent. ... But the high-profile car bombs is the one we're really focused on because that's what will start that whole cycle of violence again," he said.
Perhaps our focus on the car bombs can dampen this tactic of the enemy, but I'd rather not count on knocking out the car bombers real soon. Better to keep the Shias in the game to share responsibility for their own security so they don't blame the surge for civilian Shia deaths and restart their death squads.
