Commander Urges Disarming Iraq Militias

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The second ranking U.S. military commander in Iraq said Wednesday that it is imperative to disarm militias, but that the Iraqi government must decide when it should be done.

Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, who oversees U.S. military operations throughout Iraq, is one of a number of senior generals who have been pressing for Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government to make a decision on how to deal with militias.

"We have to fix this militia issue. We can't have armed militias competing with Iraq's security forces. But I have to trust the prime minister to decide when it is that we do that," Chiarelli said.

Murders and executions are currently the number one cause of civilian deaths in Baghdad and much of the violence has been attributed to death squads, many of which are thought to be offshoots of mainly Shiite militias.

Read the rest at the Washington Post

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