US 'must stop arming militias'
2007-06-17 23:08
Baghdad - The United States runs the risk
of creating new militias in Iraq if it arms Sunni Arab tribesmen
indiscriminately to battle al-Qaeda, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri
al-Maliki said.
In an interview with Newsweek magazine, Maliki gave the
first indication his government disagrees with the US military
policy of arming and equipping Sunni Arab tribes to fight
al-Qaeda militants under a model first used in Anbar province.
"We want to arm some tribes that want to side with us, but on
condition that we should be well aware of the tribe's background
and sure that it is not connected with terror," Maliki said.
"Some (US) field commanders make mistakes since they do not
know the facts about people they deal with.
"I believe the
coalition forces do not know the background of the tribes," he
told Newsweek on Friday.
"They make mistakes by arming tribes sometimes, and this is
dangerous because this will create new militias," he said.
US forces have just completed the placement of an extra
28 000 soldiers in Baghdad and other areas as part of a major
security crackdown that is seen as a last-ditch attempt to drag
Iraq back from the brink of civil war.
It is also meant to buy Maliki's Shi'ite-led government time
to reach Washington's benchmarks.
- Reuters