Iraq's death squads

Yesterday, I reported on Ayad Allawi's assertion that in terms of abuse things are just as bad in Iraq now as they were under Saddam. Well, now there's more -- and it isn't pretty:

Shiite Muslim militia members have infiltrated Iraq's police force and are carrying out sectarian killings under the color of law, according to documents and scores of interviews.

The abuses raise the specter of organized retaliation to attacks by Sunni-led insurgents that have killed thousands of Shiites, who endured decades of subjugation under Saddam Hussein.

And they undermine the U.S. effort to stabilize the nation, and train and equip Iraq's security forces — the Bush administration's key prerequisites for the eventual withdrawal of American troops.

And all this while the U.S. is preparing to withdraw ground forces and to hand over security duties to the Iraqis themselves -- Iraqi forces that are likely unprepared to assume those responsibilities (even as the latest White House spin misleadingly and outrageously touts the Iraqi forces' competence).

(Make sure to read the whole L.A. Times article. I've just quoted the first few paragraphs here.)

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See Political Animal, The Left Coaster, Body and Soul, and Taegan Goddard.