US Training of Death Squads in Iraq? - War Is A Crime .org

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Nov06/Amr04.htmBush Surrenders Iraq to Maliki’s Death Squadsby Ahmed Amrwww.dissidentvoice.orgNovember 4, 2006When the time eventually comes to make historic documentaries about the Iraq war, there is onescene that will leave no doubt about the dark and sinister nature of George W. Bush. The timingis a week before mid-term elections. Along with his senior aides, the president is holding avideoconference with Nouri Al-Maliki, the Prime Minister of Iraq. After an extraordinary publicfeud, the two men kiss and make up in front of the cameras. But both walk away from theencounter -- which was initiated at the request of Maliki -- with the understanding that the UnitedStates will abandon efforts to tackle the death squads in Iraq.The hastily arranged meeting was the result of a little spat between the administration and theIraqi government on how best to deal with reign of terror in Iraq, largely attributed to Iraniantrained and indoctrinated Shia militants that have infiltrated Maliki’s security forces.A week earlier, the American military had attempted to arrest a notorious death squad leader bythe name of Abu Deraa. But because the Prime Minister’s political allies are also the parties andmilitias that field the death squads, Maliki intervened to prevent similar ‘violations of Iraqisovereignty’ from taking place in the future. As the Commander In Chief of the Iraqi ArmedForces, Maliki was making a power play and exercising his ‘right’ to protect his death squadallies from any interference by Bush’s troops.But Maliki didn’t stop there. He demanded more American funding and accelerated training ofthe very same Iraqi security forces that moonlight as death squads. And, of course, Bush had noother option but to comply with the absurd request to provide American tax dollars to furtherenhance the criminal capabilities of the militia-infested police and army.There is no exaggerating the extent to which Iraqi security forces -- especially the police -- havebecome auxiliary forces that owe their allegiances to the Shia militias and parties that engineeredMaliki’s rise to power. Even War Party media operatives like the Washington Post can no longerhide the fact that there is little that distinguishes the Iraqi police from the Shia death squads.“The American soldiers and civilians who train the Iraqis are constantly on guard against thepossibility that the police might turn against them. Even in the police headquarters for all ofwestern Baghdad, one of the safest police buildings in the capital, the training team will notremove their body armor or helmets. An Armed soldier is assigned to protect each trainer.”(Washington Post, 10/31/2006)An exasperated American trainer, John Moore, is quoted as saying, “We don’t know who the hellwe’re teaching: Are they police or are they militia.”34