"Iraq's interior ministry refusing to deploy US-trained police "
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1746233,00.html

The Guardian is reporting that the Interior Minister, who is a member of SCIRI, is refusing to deploy the U.S. trained police recruits. He is the one allegedly responsible for allowing the SCIRI militia death squads to iniltrate the Interior Ministry national police. Yet the U.S. is campaigning for the SCIRI candidate to supplant the Dawa party's Jaabari as the new prime minister. Talk about the lesser of two evils. But do we really know which of the two will be the worse?

Posted by: chew2 at April 5, 2006 07:04 AM | Permalink to this comment

My understanding is that Mahdi is pretty different from Jabr, and that Mahdi would fire Jabr.

Posted by: liberalhawk at April 5, 2006 10:35 PM | Permalink to this comment

"My understanding is that Mahdi is pretty different from Jabr, and that Mahdi would fire Jabr."

Based on what evidence? Wouldn't he just appoint whoever SCIRI told him to. And even if he did, is it likely anybody less sectarian would be appointed in his place. Plus even if Jaabari stayed on, how do we know he would keep Jabr on. There is a lot of horse trading going on now, and maybe he would replace him. Again no guarantee his successor would be any better.

Posted by: chew2 at April 5, 2006 11:24 PM | Permalink to this comment

Whenever I see things like this, the economist in me is forced to ask, "Yes, but what was the cost of not having this problem?"

Notice we seem to be trading ruthless Sunni insurgency enemies for ruthless Shia sectarian police allies; while less than ideal, that would seem to be a large net gain. Of course, the death squad tactics are abhorrent and unacceptable and they need to brought under tighter rein, but at least they CAN be brought under rein, unlike the Sunni terrorist groups.

Posted by: TallDave at April 6, 2006 02:53 PM | Permalink to this comment

Dave, whyever would you think the death squads can be brought under control?

Rather, why would you think they aren't under control?

They're just doing their job, and a lot of americans wouldn't like it if they heard about it, so we're supposed to say we want them to quit doing their job. But we can say that all we want. They won't quit.

Posted by: J Thomas at April 6, 2006 04:34 PM | Permalink to this comment

Dave, whyever would you think the death squads can be brought under control

They're (supposedly) part of the gov't, unlike the insurgents and Al Qaeda. They answer to people who have more to lose from abandoning politics for violence.

Posted by: TallDave at April 6, 2006 08:44 PM | Permalink to this comment

chew

I gather it from various press sources about al mahdi. Also the fact that the Sunnis and the secularists under Allawi seem to prefer Mahdi to Jaafari. And theyre the ones with the most reason to oppose Jabr, and THEY are on the ground in Iraq, and intimately familiar with its politics.

Posted by: liberalhawk at April 6, 2006 10:20 PM | Permalink to this comment

Dave, I guess I was putting too much subtlety in that.

Whyever would you think the iraqi government wants the death squads to quit being death squads?

Why would you think they aren't under control already?

Why would you think the US government isn't all for them doing what they do best? Why would you think it isn't US policy to quietly encourage them? The US government wouldn't want to come right out and say that since some of our citizens are kind of squeamish, but why would you doubt that this is part of the plan?

Posted by: J Thomas at April 6, 2006 10:41 PM | Permalink to this comment

liberalhawk,

Relative to Dawaa, SCIRI wants a weak central government, and is pushing for eventual regional super states. I suspect the Sunni's oppose Jaabari partly because he's done a poor job and presonal feuds because he has been the one wielding power. I doubt that SCIRI's Mahdi is any more likely to clean up the Interior ministry death sqauds who come from his own party's militia, and may hasten the breakup of the country.

I don't know what the US opposition to Jaabari is really based on. Incompetence? Seems to be the consensus. Or the fact that he's supported by the Sadrists? So we'll embrace the lesser enemy SCIRI so as not to give any influence to a greater one Sadr.

Posted by: chew2 at April 6, 2006 11:35 PM | Permalink to this comment

Linked to the story and you here.

Posted by: Gary Farber at April 7, 2006 04:07 AM | Permalink to this comment