There are good militias and there are bad militias - Bolani

The lines of the Shia war have been drawn by Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al Bolani.

Bolani .... also said three of the country's biggest militias -- those of the country's two main Kurdish parties and that of a leading Shiite religious party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq -- were among those that had been lawfully integrated into the country's security forces.

He said that a fourth major militia, the Mahdi Army of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, along with Sunni insurgent groups, were "outside the political body and structure."

"We do not approve of the existence of these militias,'' Bolani said of the Mahdi Army and Sunni insurgents.

See, SCIRI affiliated milita elements that have penetrated the security forces and are killing and torturing people in uniform are legitimate. The Kurdish, whose votes are necessary for the SCIRI to push through legislation, are legitimate as well.

Political rivals the Mahdi and his enemies the Sunnis are not legitimate. Funny how that works out.

(By far, the largest portion of militia penetration into the Iraqi Security Forces is by SCIRI/Badr. Maybe that's what he means when he says they have been "lawfully integrated.")

Also: Col. Mamuri, the leader of the one effective Iraqi brigade, was assassinated. Bolani's in charge of the investigation. Wanna bet he's not going to blame SCIRI/Badr? (Mamuri had been refusing pressure to accept SCIRI/Badr militia personnel into his unit.)

And, I don't know the blog, but this is a very good post on the questionable legality and the divisions on the Federalism vote. Loosely, Sunni and Sadr political groups boycotted it. The "legitimate" SCIRI and Kurdish blocks supported it.

There are big questions about quorum, the vote totals, and why the room was sealed and electronic transmissions cut off.