From Middle East Newsline
Sunnis from areas dominated by Saddam Hussein loyalists have volunteered in record numbers for Iraq’s new security forces. U.S. officials said the greatest number of the volunteers has come from the area of Tikrit, the stronghold of Saddam. They said the applications to join Iraqi security forces increased dramatically after the capture of Saddam on Dec. 13.
This is tentatively good news. It means that more and more are seeing that the Baathist cause is a loser. On the other hand, we must be vigilant of infiltration of the force by Baathists, Jihadis, and other rabble.
"I qualify that by saying we have to monitor that," Coalition Provisional Authority spokesman Dan Senor said. "But it certainly is a good signal, and it’s consistent with what we’ve been seeing across the board: steady increases in the number of Iraqis who want to participate in protecting their country." Officials said the Sunni volunteers for the Iraqi security forces comes after months of difficulties in recruiting those from the Sunni Triangle. They said many Sunnis who had joined the military and security forces resigned amid threats from Saddam loyalists.
Saddam loyalists who make threats must be identified quickly and dealt with quickly and harshly. I hope that our new agressiveness is already on their cases. |