[Dean's World] Dave Price: Gangs Of Iraq

[notify at powerblogs.com]

Posted by Dave Price:
Gangs Of Iraq
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1184089446.shtml


   From [1]StrategyPage:

     The war in Iraq is notable not because it is against guerillas or
     terrorists, but because of the large number of armed opposition
     groups that are, for all intents and purposes, criminal gangs. Such
     organizations have been around here for thousands of years, but
     Saddam made them more powerful by incorporating the loyal ones into
     his security organization. Maybe it was something he learned from
     the Russians (the KGB loved to work with gangsters), but it left
     post Saddam Iraq awash in criminal gangs. Sunni Arab gangs grew
     rich, Kurd and Shia gangs got constant heat.

   This culture of using violence to acquire wealth, ingrained over
   decades of thugocratic rule, is what's making progress in Iraq so
   difficult, and what has to be overturned to make Iraq work.
   Fortunately, our troops have a plan, and there is progress:

     The deal was simple. We will run the local bad guys out, killing or
     arresting those we catch. In return, the local tribe and clan
     leaders will support recruiting for the local police force, and the
     tribe will recognize the Shia dominated government.
     ...
     The gangs have not taken this new program well. Of the hundreds of
     gangs in Sunni Arab areas, about half are now banged up and in
     flight, or essentially destroyed.

   This is also how the Shia "militias" operate: they run Sunnis out of
   mixed neighborhoods, then rent out the vacated property. It's not so
   much a civil war as a gang war, and less ideological than merely
   criminal.
   Meanwhile, Sadr has reportedly again [2]fled to Iran, as surge
   operations continue.

References

   1. http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/iraq/articles/20070710.aspx
   2. http://billroggio.com/archives/2007/07/iraq_report_phantom.php