Perspective: Making Peace with the Militias

Wanted in Iraq: a few good militias. Job requirements: don’t kill Americans or attack the central government. Compensation: you may be allowed to survive.

The new U.S. approach to securing Iraq may not be as simple as this job description. But Gen. David Petraeus and other officials behind the “surge” plan in Iraq are acutely aware that domestic support for a prolonged U.S. stay is wilting fast. As a result, they are searching for a new way—any way—to stabilize the country quickly. And that may include some fresh and controversial thinking about Iraqi militias and other nongovernmental security forces.

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