Opinion (Douglas Wood):The rot starts at the top in Iraq

Douglas Wood was a contractor kidnapped in Iraq

When I was rescued from terrorists in Baghdad by Iraqi forces, I thought this was proof positive that US policy in Iraq was working. American and coalition forces were training the "new Iraqi army" and empowering its members to take control of their own destiny.

My captors were caught by Iraqis and tried in an Iraqi court in the room adjacent to where Saddam Hussein was being tried. My captors were found guilty and are serving life terms in an Iraqi jail.

But things changed when Nouri al-Maliki was elected prime minister of Iraq with the decisive support of the terrorist-turned-politician Moqtada al-Sadr. Sadr's Mahdi Army and the Shiite death squads are now running amok, killing Sunni citizens. Instead of inciting his flock against US and coalition forces, Sadr joined the political process, and he and some of his supporters were elected to government.

Colonel Mohammed, my rescuer, turned out not to be a new member of the army. He was a Sunni who had been a part of Saddam's army. When he refused to take part in Saddam's directives against the Kurds or the Shiites, he was thrown in jail and tortured daily until the overthrow of Saddam, when he rejoined the army.

Mohammed is a natural leader. After my rescue, he and his troops cleaned the terrorists out of Haifa Street in Baghdad, which was so dangerous the US military had a warning sign for US units to not enter it. He also rescued his own family when they were abducted and abused.

But when Mohammed wanted to subdue the Mahdi Army, Maliki stopped him. Mohammed's house was ransacked and he and his family were evicted by forces that he recognised as Maliki's personal security guards. His father-in-law was kidnapped, cut into five pieces and delivered in a box for his children to see.

From the Sydney Morning Herald