Iraq PM: Disarming militias on hold; U.S. over-reliant on force; Rejects U.S. Sadr city attack

BAGHDAD — Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said in an interview with USA TODAY that his government will not force militias to disarm until later this year or early next year, despite escalating violence in Baghdad fueled by death squads and religious warfare.

"The initial date we've set for disbanding the militias is the end of this year or the beginning of next year." He also said that "the problem of militias, in countries throughout the world, requires time."

Al-Maliki's remarks point to a growing gap between the U.S. and Iraqi governments over how to handle growing sectarian violence.

U.S. officials have urged the Iraqi government to take immediate action to reduce the violence. On a visit to Baghdad earlier this month, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the "security situation is not one that can be tolerated and it's not one helped by political inaction."

Al-Maliki also predicted a significant U.S. troop withdrawal starting early next year, despite the growing violence. If Iraq's security forces continue to build in strength, U.S. troops could start withdrawing in "a matter of months," he said. There are currently 141,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

The prime minister criticized the U.S.-led military coalition for an overreliance on force, which he called the "wrong approach."

"Terrorism and militias — especially militias — cannot be dealt with only by using tanks, guns and aircraft," he said.

Al-Maliki's Shiite-dominated government depends on some militia leaders for political support.

Al-Maliki said he has rejected U.S. plans to launch large-scale operations into Sadr City, a Baghdad slum and a stronghold of the Mahdi Army, a powerful militia loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Al-Sadr's political organization controls several Cabinet positions and 30 seats in the parliament.

"We have told the Americans that we don't mind targeting a Mahdi Army cell inside Sadr City," al-Maliki said. "But the way the multinational forces are thinking of confronting this issue will destroy an entire neighborhood. Of course it was rejected."

There "seems like a disconnect" between U.S. and Iraqi strategies, said Steven Cook, a Middle East analyst at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Read the rest at USA Today

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