Post-invasion Iraq / Iraqi government should crack down on Shiite militias

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"But Mr. Maliki would have to be blind, deaf and dumb not to have recognized from the get-go that the Mahdi army is one gigantic death squad. I suspect Mr. Maliki is only seeing the light now because President Bush finally is applying some heat."

From Don't prejudge the surge, by Jack Kelly (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 28 January 2007) (view)

"The hanging of Saddam Hussein did not change anything, but it did illuminate the deeply sectarian nature of this government. If it were my choice, I would not "surge" American troops in defense of such a government. I would not trust it to deliver on its promises."

From A Plausible Plan B, by Charles Krauthammer (The Washington Post, 19 January 2007) (view)

"There are several specific steps that the US wants Mr al-Maliki to take, which are vital if the new strategy involving a “surge” in US troop strength is to work. The first is to crack down on Shia as well as Sunni militants."

From The Leadership Gap, by The Times editorial board (The Times, 18 January 2007) (view)

"Al-Maliki declared that his Shiite-dominated government would crack down on Sunni Arab and Shiite militants with equal vigor. Now he must deliver. That puts a lot of pressure on al-Maliki, who has so far proven unable or unwilling to take action, particularly if it would rankle militia leader Moqtada Sadr, one of the prime minister's most powerful backers."

From Squeezing Baghdad, by Chicago Tribune editorial board (Chicago Tribune, 11 January 2007) (view)

"Mr. al-Maliki needs to make a clean break from the pernicious and polarizing al-Sadr if Iraq's government is to have any hope of unifying and securing the country. He needs to be dealt with like any other brutal thug."

From Pressure Iraqis, by Orlando Sentinel editorial board (Orlando Sentinel, 11 January 2007) (view)

"We wish we had confidence that his new strategy could succeed and that he had made these proposals before spasms of sectarian butchery dragged Iraq to the edge of the abyss. Now, Mr. Bush's plan depends entirely on the credibility and capability of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government, which has proved weak and more dedicated to protecting Shiite militancy than defending the rule of law."

From Bush's Last Stand: Is president's new Iraq strategy too little, too late?, by The Dallas Morning News editorial board (The Dallas Morning News, 11 January 2007) (view)

"Sadr City used to be Baghdad's worst slum. Now it's one of the few relatively safe areas in town. Yes, the Shiite militias are targeting our soldiers - just like the Sunni insurgents. We are enemies to all and they will all keep targeting our unfortunate soldiers until we get them the hell out."

From Of Course the Iranians Are Adding Fuel to the Shiite Militias, by Trey Ellis (The Huffington Post, 11 February 2007) (view)

"The most disastrous part of Bush's plan is his pressure on the Maliki government to let US troops enter Baghdad's 2 million-strong Shia district, Sadr City, with all-out force, in order to smash Moqtada al-Sadr's militias. This could produce a civilian bloodbath of colossal proportions, dwarfing the massacres in Falluja in 2004."

From There is no military solution for Iraq, only a political one, by Jonathan Steele (The Guardian, 12 January 2007) (view)