Posted on 10/25/2006 8:25:52 AM PDT by MNJohnnie
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1725292/posts?page=1
Iraqi Government Plans to Demobilize Illegal Militias
WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2006 – The Iraqi government has plans to demobilize all illegal militias, including radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s so-called “Mahdi Army,” the senior U.S. diplomat in Iraq said today.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki “has agreed to getting rid of the militias,” U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters at a Baghdad news conference.
Illegal militias that commit violence and murder need to be dealt with, Khalilzad said, noting the Iraqi government recognizes that fact.
Maliki wants to demobilize all the militias, including al-Sadr’s, Khalilzad said. Yet, he noted, U.S. officials don’t have direct contact with Sadr, although there is some interaction with some of Sadr’s representatives in the Iraqi Assembly.
Khalilzad said he believes that an integrated, political approach is the best way to try to convince militia leaders to disband their men and stack arms.
However, Maliki doesn’t rule out the use of force to coerce the militias to disband, Khalilzad said. “We will see what happens,” he added.
Khalilzad said he believes the Iraqi government is taking the right path in addressing the militia issue. Iraq’s prime minister is anxious for Iraqis to assume more security roles and responsibilities, to include dealing the problem of militias, the ambassador said.
Meanwhile, U.S., coalition and Iraqi security forces “are actively tracking, targeting, detaining people who are operating in death squads, and their leadership, who are breaking the law,” Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr, commander of Multinational Force Iraq, said.
When Iraq’s government zeroes in on the militia issue, then the Iraqi security forces will become the dominant security forces in the country, Casey predicted.
“I think it will happen,” he said.
Of course CNN will give the terrorists a fair shake. To liberals at CNN, Bush and conservatives are the only bad guys, and terrorists aren't as bad as them.
I'm just chalking it up to a bad night.
Isn't there also an attila d. hun here? Maybe that's who Mark thought he had?
I can't bear the thought of the dems taking over either house.
I hear that. Bad thought.
Awesome! Thanks for posting all that! VERY useful! :)
I hope that it is replayed on CSPIN at a reasonable hour so they don't have to rely on MSM for interpretation.
Informative post.. thanks
and it's really too bad Patricia wil never get a job in hollyweird after this...
We shall see.
I guess you already know about this:
Outrage over 'babies in incinerator' shock
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/region_wide/2006/10/24/e89fac8e-78bb-4e7e-8d77-d13980fe5f9d.lpf
Hospital admits to burning aborted babies in waste incinerator
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=412172&in_page_id=1770&in_page_id=1770&expand=true#StartComments
I agree, bess press conference yet.
And it was not national broadcasting..
I'm so sorry to be office-bound today and to have missed the president's presser. I'll have to find it on replay later on CSPAM. He sounds great.
The arm isn't doing badly. Next week we (the Dr. and I) decide if surgery makes sense or not. Right now, it looks like I'll not have it. Time will tell.
Now, I'm just trying to get my head on straight from all the travelling I've been doing. To many, it wasn't much, but it's more than I've done in the last three years combined. I kinda like stayin' put!
It was great! I got to see a bunch of it. GWB was clear and on point.
Oh for goodness sake. I had no idea, Ali. What monsters.
Amen! It's like heaven to come to a place where so many conservatives discuss important issues. I'm just sorry I didn't discover FR earlier.
That was my thought.
Here's where the Clinton hit the fan!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1725195/posts?page=580#580
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