General Lynch: Iraqi government security decisions rife with sectarianism

Above: Iraqi police officers from Babil province practice firing their weapons during the Iraq police sustainment training program at Forward Operating Base Kalsu in February.

Poor provincial governance and political interference in security matters are two of the biggest obstacles U.S. and Iraqi forces face in the fight against Iraq's insurgency, a top U.S. commander said on Sunday.

Major-General Rick Lynch, commander of U.S. forces in an area stretching from Baghdad's southern suburbs south through a region known as the "Triangle of Death", said political decisions were being made along sectarian lines at all levels...

"You do have leaders in very high positions who are making sectarian-based decisions, no doubt about it. I see indications of sectarian decisions and not Iraqi decisions"...

In one instance about three weeks ago, Lynch said 42 detainees held in Hilla, capital of Babil province south of Baghdad, were released "on the direction of the national government". He gave no indication who gave the order.

Read the rest at Reuters/Alternet

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