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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Coup attempt in Iraq? Sunnis forming militias?

I'm in a bit of a hurry right, so I'm just going to link these now. (I may rewrite this later.)
The Times learnt yesterday that Tareq al-Hashemi, Iraq’s Sunni Vice-President, is forming a unit of the National Guard that will act as his personal bodyguard and fend off attacks against Addumiyah, a Sunni district surrounded by overwhelmingly Shia districts.

It will be the first official Sunni militia group and a counter to security forces that have been heavily infiltrated by Shia militias.


All kinds of points here. Civil War? Formal/government security forces being appropriated solely as a partisan force?

Also, I don't know how much creedence to give this report that a group of Sunni military officers were "rounded up" after it was claimed they planned a coup. There were rumors.

posted by mikevotes at 7:30 AM

3 Comments:

  • I remember seeing a bumper sticker that said "Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam"

    Now I think it might be the word for "Somalia."

    By Blogger QuakerDave, at 8:31 AM  

  • We're getting closer and closer to George W. Bush's stated definition as to what a civil war is (collapse of government/military). That definition has no basis in intellectual thought, but such set backs have never limited him before.

    By Blogger Bravo 2-1, at 10:42 AM  

  • Dave, I still see early stages of former Yugoslavia because it's multifactional, but, I think we may soon get to failed state Somalia. Basically, if Maliki's government becomes inconsequential and limited in influence to just the small area where it resides,.... Oh yeah, Maliki in the green zone.

    Copy editor, you're right, but so long as they can hold up Maliki, no matter how powerless he may be, they will not make that admission.

    It would take one of the factions abandoning the parliament. Of course, if the Sunnis do so, the claim could still be made that Maliki still has the support.

    Mike

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 11:07 AM  

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