The New York Times
Printer Friendly Format Sponsored By
November 29, 2007
U.S. Military Plans to Bolster Iraqi Sentry Forces by 10,000
By CARA BUCKLEY
BAGHDAD, Nov. 28 - The American military expects to add roughly 10,000
Iraqis to its roster of unofficial security guards who act as paid
neighborhood sentries here, and will then cap the program, a military
official said Wednesday.
The guards were hired by the tens of thousands earlier this year, when
American forces offered tribal sheiks money in exchange for information
about terrorist and criminal activities. About 77,000 people, who are
alternately called volunteers, concerned local citizens, or members of
awakening councils, have joined, the vast majority of them Sunnis.
The program has been credited with helping to drive violence down sharply
nationwide, but also stirred concerns among Shiites that the Sunnis would
use the money and training to re-form militias. About 60,000 of the guards
are paid $300 a month, while the rest are still being enrolled, said Rear
Adm. Gregory Smith, a spokesman for the multinational forces.
"Our intent was not to send the message that this was a job creation
program," Admiral Smith said Wednesday. The program was expected to grow by
another 10 percent to 15 percent at the most, he said. The military said it
wanted to keep the number below 100,000. Earlier this week the Iraqi
government announced that it would take over from the Americans next year
the obligation of paying the guards' salaries.
"It is an Iraqi responsibility, this is the right thing to do, it is not an
American responsibility," said Ali al-Dabbagh, a government spokesman, said
Monday. "And at the same time, the loyalty of these people should be to
Iraq."
The American military also wants the program to act as a bridge to funnel
people into jobs with the Iraqi Army or the police. About a third of current
enlistees have expressed interest in doing so, said Admiral Smith, though
just 2,000 have so far.
Also on Wednesday, 20 busloads of returning Iraqi refugees arrived in
Baghdad from Syria, though the exact number of the refugees was not clear.
Mr. Dabbagh, the government spokesman, put the figure at 800 people; the
Baghdad City Council said the number was closer to 200. The International
Organization for Migration said about 300 people had returned on the buses.
There have been varying reports about the number of displaced people who are
returning to Iraq or to their homes within Iraq. Earlier this month, an
Iraqi official said roughly 46,000 people returned from other countries in
October, evidence, he said, of improved security conditions here. But that
figure included all Iraqis who crossed the borders, not just the displaced
who were returning.
There are also concerns about how smoothly the resettlement is going.
Roughly a third of the people who have come to Iraq have discovered
squatters living in their homes, said Dana Graber Ladek, the International
Organization for Migration's Iraqi displacement specialist.
"Property claims could be a tremendous issue that the government of Iraq
will need to address," Ms. Ladek wrote in an e-mail message.
In another development, Unicef warned that Baghdad might be facing a cholera
outbreak, with 101 new cases reported in recent weeks. Cholera is a
waterborne disease that often appears when sanitary conditions are poor, and
the capital, where raw sewage flows into many waterways, accounts for nearly
80 percent of the country's new cases, the agency said. The increase is of
particular concern because the rainy season is approaching, and, according
to agency figures, Iraq's sewage treatment plants are working at less than
one-fifth of their capacity.
**********
THE "G" BLOGS...by GyG
http://www.network54.com/Forum/578302/
and....
http://gunnyg.wordpress.com/
Also known as Gunny G's
Globe and Anchor Sites/Forums/Blogs....
~~~~~
HISTORY ETC. -- The Gunny G History Wiki!
http://gunnyg.wetpaint.com/
Police Out of Control! - A Gunny G Wiki...
http://gunnygcops.wetpaint.com/
~~~~~
News-n-Views, Military, History, Politics,
Controversial, Unusual, Non-PC
Eye-opening, Thought-provoking,
Articles Just Not Seen... Elsewhere!
~~~~~
RESTORE THE REPUBLIC/
TAKE AMERICA BACK!
~~~~~
The "Original/The Only "Gunny G"
**********
