"The names of local journalists are not being used to protect their identity."

A snapshot from the NBC journalists' Baghdad blog. (It's short.)

Here (at the Baghdad morgue,) a Facilities Protection Service officer examined the paperwork granting us permission to film at the complex. The Facilities Protection Service (FPS) is a guard force that works for each ministry; since the Ministry of Health is run by a supporter of Muqtada al-Sadr, the Ministry of Health Facilities Protection Service is known to be thoroughly infiltrated by militiamen from Sadr's Mahdi Army.......

As I was walking back outside, gunfire erupted all around us. It turns out the Ministry of Health FPS had gotten into a firefight with nearby FPS officers from the Ministry of Electricity, which is not run by a al-Sadr supporter. Unfortunately, my crew was caught in the middle.....

After a few minutes, Ministry of Health officials grabbed us and others in the crowd and took us inside. Once we were in the building, a senior Health Ministry official told us to stay inside because he was worried a larger force from the Electricity Ministry might show up and attack our position.

According to this foundational Newsweek article on the FPS's, they numbered around 146,000 in April. These are private forces doled out and under control of the various government ministers.

And, I had forgotten that the administration had designated 2006 as "the year of the police."

(If you're browsing the NBC blog, this one is heavy.)