Good question.

Bradford Plummer at MoJo asks exactly the right question: Can Maliki disarm the militias? One also can't help but suspect that Rice and Rumsfeld's overt backing for Maliki will only make the latter's job harder, not easier. Iraqis, as we've learned, aren't terribly keen on taking their marching orders from Washington: Only a year ago, ...

Bradford Plummer at MoJo asks exactly the right question: Can Maliki disarm the militias?

Bradford Plummer at MoJo asks exactly the right question: Can Maliki disarm the militias?

One also can't help but suspect that Rice and Rumsfeld's overt backing for Maliki will only make the latter's job harder, not easier. Iraqis, as we've learned, aren't terribly keen on taking their marching orders from Washington: Only a year ago, Rumsfeld warned the Shiites not to purge the security forces of ex-Baathists, and yet they did just that. (UPDATE: See this story; some Shiites are already angry at the visit.)

Meanwhile, Spencer had a new piece up the other day noting that Iraq's new prime minister might not be the best person to reconcile the country after all—Maliki has been involved in nearly every move that's pissed off the Sunnis over the last few years. And in very related and very scary news, Shiite militiamen are moving into the oil-rich and Kurdish-dominated city of Kirkuk, ready to take the city back from the Kurds.

At this stage in the post, I'm supposed to either pretend that I have a clever answer or deliver a clever jab at the Bush administration. I have to finish the morning brief, so I'll pass.

Tag: Iraq

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