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Iraqis Try to Put an End to Death Squads
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The Iraqi Defense and Interior ministries have reached an agreement requiring them to conduct all raids jointly, in a bid to stop the operations of alleged death squads masquerading as police commandos.Sunni Muslims have complained for months that their community is under attack from death squads operating under the guise of Interior Ministry commandos. Interior Minister Bayan Jabr, who controls Iraq police, is a Shiite. Defense Minister Saadoun al-Dulaimi is a Sunni Muslim, the country's minority sect that had been dominant under ousted leader Saddam Hussein, himself a Sunni. "Brothers we have to pull out by the roots the evil which is trying to destroy this country," al-Dulaimi said at a news conference after meeting with Jabr at the Interior Ministry. The agreement the two ministers signed on Sunday further requires them to share intelligence that could lead to any raid before reaching a joint decision to conduct the operation. "We are facing a very tough security situation that requires this kind of joint cooperation against the devils that want Iraqis to fight each other," Jabr said. U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad had said shortly before the Samarra bombing that the United States would not countenance Iraqi leaders beholden to a sectarian militia. Nearly three months after Dec. 15 parliamentary elections, the legislature still has been unable to meet to approve al-Jaafari's nomination as prime minister. A coalition of Kurdish politicians, including President Jalal Talabani, Sunnis and some sectarian lawmakers was formed recently in an attempt to block al-Jaafari from naming the country's first permanent post-invasion government. The United States has made that a precondition to its hopes to begin drawing down troops this summer. Parliament has now been ordered into a first session on March 19, but the date has already been called into question. The legislature has 60 days after its first meeting to elect a new president and approve the prime minister and his Cabinet. Posted by: Steve White 2006-03-14 |
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