more than 20 years ago, which led to 70,000 deaths and countless <strong>in</strong>stances <strong>of</strong> human rightsabuse.Some <strong>of</strong> the most persistent allegations <strong>of</strong> abuse have been made aga<strong>in</strong>st the Wolf Brigade, many<strong>of</strong> whom were formerly <strong>in</strong> Saddam's Baathist forces. Their ma<strong>in</strong> <strong>US</strong> adviser until April last yearwas James Steele, who, <strong>in</strong> his own biography, states that he commanded the <strong>US</strong> military group <strong>in</strong>El Salvador dur<strong>in</strong>g the height <strong>of</strong> the guerrilla war and was <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> counter-<strong>in</strong>surgencytra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g. The compla<strong>in</strong>ts aga<strong>in</strong>st <strong>Iraq</strong>i special forces cont<strong>in</strong>ue. At the end <strong>of</strong> last year, while <strong>in</strong><strong>Iraq</strong>, I <strong>in</strong>terviewed Ahmed Sadoun who was arrested <strong>in</strong> Mosul and held for seven months beforebe<strong>in</strong>g released without charge.Dur<strong>in</strong>g that time, he said, he was tortured. He showed marks on his body, which were the results<strong>of</strong> the beat<strong>in</strong>gs and burn<strong>in</strong>gs. Mr Sadoun, 38, did not know which paramilitary group,accompanied by American soldiers, had seized him, but the Wolf Brigade was widely <strong>in</strong>volved<strong>in</strong> suppress<strong>in</strong>g disturbances <strong>in</strong> Mosul at the time.Mr Sadoun fled to Amman to escape further <strong>of</strong>ficial attention. His family, however, had stayedbeh<strong>in</strong>d <strong>in</strong> Mosul, and last month his 27-year-old brother, Rashid, was arrested by paramilitaries.His body, shot <strong>in</strong> the head, was dumped on a stretch <strong>of</strong> waste ground five days later.As the <strong>US</strong> and British policies <strong>in</strong> <strong>Iraq</strong> reach the last stages <strong>of</strong> unravell<strong>in</strong>g, there are <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>glyfrantic calls to the Prime M<strong>in</strong>ister, Nour al-Maliki, from Wash<strong>in</strong>gton and London to re<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> thegovernment-sponsored death squads. The problem is that the militias, well armed andentrenched, are connected to political parties who know that Mr al-Maliki is dependant on theirsupport. Two violent <strong>in</strong>cidents last week illustrated the extent <strong>of</strong> the grip the gunmen now haveon <strong>Iraq</strong>i society.<strong>US</strong> and <strong>Iraq</strong>i forces went <strong>in</strong>to Sadr City, the vast Shia slum on the outskirts <strong>of</strong> Baghdad, tocapture, accord<strong>in</strong>g to the military, "a top, illegal armed group commander direct<strong>in</strong>g widespreaddeath-squad activity".Instead <strong>of</strong> congratulat<strong>in</strong>g the troops, Mr al-Maliki, purportedly the commander-<strong>in</strong>-chief <strong>of</strong> <strong>Iraq</strong>'smilitary, angrily compla<strong>in</strong>ed he was not told about the operation, add<strong>in</strong>g: "We will ask forclarification <strong>of</strong> what happened <strong>in</strong> Sadr City, we will review the issue with the mult<strong>in</strong>ationalforces so that it will not be repeated."Mr al-Maliki, needless to say, needs the back<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> Moqtada al-Sadr, who controls Sadr City.Falan Hassan Shansai, the leader <strong>of</strong> the Sadr bloc, which has 30 out <strong>of</strong> the 275 seats <strong>in</strong> theparliament, publicly warned <strong>of</strong> the consequences if such action was, <strong>in</strong>deed, repeated.In the south, 800 members <strong>of</strong> the Mehdi Army <strong>in</strong> black uniforms stormed Amarah, the capital <strong>of</strong>Maysan prov<strong>in</strong>ce, recently vacated by the British, and took over the city. Dozens were killed <strong>in</strong>the fight<strong>in</strong>g, while around 500 British forces were put on standby <strong>in</strong> Basra but did not <strong>in</strong>tervene.Moqtada's men left after blow<strong>in</strong>g up three <strong>of</strong> the ma<strong>in</strong> police stations.180
The Mehdi Army does not always have to resort to violence to achieve its aim. In districts itcontrols, such as Hurriyah <strong>in</strong> north-west Baghdad, owners <strong>of</strong> bus<strong>in</strong>esses and properties aresimply told they are be<strong>in</strong>g taken over, and large red crosses are pa<strong>in</strong>ted on the premises as amessage that they have a few days to leave.Sergeant Jeff Nelson, an <strong>in</strong>telligence analyst with the <strong>US</strong> army's 1st Battalion, 23rd InfantryRegiment, <strong>in</strong> Baghdad, said: "They have <strong>in</strong>filtrated every branch <strong>of</strong> public service and everypolitical <strong>of</strong>fice they can get their hands on. As soon as the <strong>US</strong> leaves, they will be able todom<strong>in</strong>ate the area with key citizens, key <strong>of</strong>fices."Sgt Nelson said his battalion has <strong>in</strong>vestigated 40 sectarian kill<strong>in</strong>gs and collected 57 bodies <strong>in</strong> oneweek. None had led to any arrest. He said: "Sometimes we have a feel<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> completehopelessness."One reason why Mr al-Maliki's government was not told about the Sadr City raid was that thishas led <strong>in</strong> the past to the targets be<strong>in</strong>g warned <strong>of</strong>f. Earlier this month, the Americans received<strong>in</strong>telligence about a Shia militia torture chamber <strong>in</strong> Baghdad. Capta<strong>in</strong> Kev<strong>in</strong> Sage, whose unitwas due to raid the address, needed approval from the <strong>Iraq</strong>i authorities. This was delayed forseveral days, and, when it eventually came through, the two-storey build<strong>in</strong>g was found to beabandoned.Be<strong>in</strong>g arrested does not mean that militia members will be kept <strong>in</strong> custody. Major Husse<strong>in</strong> al-Qaisi, a battalion commander with the 6th Division <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Iraq</strong>i army, said: "Sometimes they willback them up no matter what, and we just have to let them go."The message to the Baghdad m<strong>org</strong>ue was simple - they could do what they liked with the plastichandcuffs, but the metal ones were expensive and needed to be returned. Such is the murderousstate <strong>of</strong> affairs <strong>in</strong> <strong>Iraq</strong> at the moment that the demand, made by a militia gunman who is alsobelieved to be a member <strong>of</strong> the Special Police Commandos, hardly caused a stir.There was a similar lack <strong>of</strong> shock when a dozen bodies were brought <strong>in</strong> with identification cardsshow<strong>in</strong>g that each had the name Omar. The catch here was that Omar is a Sunni name, and thisfact was enough to seal their fate at Shia checkpo<strong>in</strong>ts.Baghdad is full <strong>of</strong> checkpo<strong>in</strong>ts. Leav<strong>in</strong>g the Hamra Hotel, where the dw<strong>in</strong>dl<strong>in</strong>g band <strong>of</strong> Britishjournalists outside the Green Zone stay, means negotiat<strong>in</strong>g the Badr Brigade, their Shiacompetitors the Mehdi Army <strong>of</strong> Moqtada al-Sadr, and the Kurdish peshmerga. The <strong>Iraq</strong>i policeand the government paramilitaries, <strong>in</strong> the meantime, have their own barriers. And there areothers: the Shia Defenders <strong>of</strong> Khadamiya, set up by Moqtada's cous<strong>in</strong> Husse<strong>in</strong> al-Sadr, and thegovernment-backed Tiger and Scorpion brigades.They all have similar looks: balaclavas or wrap-around sunglasses and headbands, black leathergloves with f<strong>in</strong>gers cut <strong>of</strong>f, and a very lethal arsenal <strong>of</strong> weapons. When not mann<strong>in</strong>gcheckpo<strong>in</strong>ts, they hurtle through the streets <strong>in</strong> 4x4s, scatter<strong>in</strong>g the traffic by fir<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the air. Out<strong>of</strong> sight, they stand accused <strong>of</strong> arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial kill<strong>in</strong>gs.181
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guard was called upon. Now people l
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After the commandos set up their he
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more skilled than American troops I
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‘‘I think it was all an act to
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Ministry of Interior Security Force
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‘‘For some, there’s definitel
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with prominent Shiite cleric Hussei
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The Police Commandos’ penchant fo
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effective at responding to the atta
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http://zmagsite.zmag.org/Nov2005/da
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In another twist, the bodies of 8 m
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Subject: [oneheartpeacework] Traine
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3. Maass, Peter, "The Way of the Co
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We now have Judith Miller’s New Y
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arrangements with the CEO of the Ir
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November 6, 2003, was designated fo
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March 9, 2006 -- Los Angeles Times
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http://www.newyorker.com/printables
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The former official says that the B
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officials in Colombia. The book “
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The majority of the Bush Administra
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Part Three:200451
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military base on Honduran territory
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Not everyone in Chile is opposed to
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Secret US Gulfstream jets and Swedi
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If ever possible…FOOTNOTES:Seymou
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Part Four:200561
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The organization said U.S. and Iraq
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For starters, what’s been written
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http://www.counterpunch.org/hersh01
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Fallujah I called him at home. I'm
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these people worked as night clerks
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http://nyc.indymedia.org/newswire/d
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y shifting their targets, concentra
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* Arun Gupta, former editor of The
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From Iran-Contra To IraqThe NationB
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his actions this time around become
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might have been imagined.According
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put out by the Interior Ministry, t
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in/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/arch
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However, the analogy is misleading
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http://nytimes.com/cfr/internationa
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which have raised sectarian tension
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http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstr
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A grocer in west Baghdad told Salih
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use of their experience in mass rep
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Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Iraqi
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http://www.informationclearinghouse
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The slaughter and destruction in we
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SEC. RUMSFELD: I'm not going to com
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insurgency. The Iraqi forces, the m
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Part Five:2006111
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They told soldiers they were taking
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http://www.countercurrents.org/iraq
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One photo showed what appeared to b
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Maj. Gen. Hussein Kamal, who announ
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Baghdad, the 14 Sunnis seized from
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"You've got the facilities protecti
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Peterson, the U.S. officer in charg
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homes or mosques by men in uniform
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