Supporting the Sunni Militias Circumventing The Establish Government: The Perfect Storm Part 2

The story is already developing. The storm is already brewing. In order to stop the violence in Iraq the brilliant strategists commissioned under the current commander in chief decided to arm our enemies. In a recent story posted by the AP, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch said, "They want to be recognized as legitimate members of society and that has to happen." The "they" he is referring to are the Sunni tribal militias that the U.S. forces have sought to arm and support. His statement leaves no doubt that there is an implied "but" that is in conjunction with the request to be "recognized". That "but" is the looming threat to return to their violent past. The difference is that now they would have U.S weapons. Here is another reference.

Order of events are important to grasping any logic. First the U.S. troops are sent in to remove an "evil dictator" who possessed nuclear weapons. A dictator of a regime that was identified as being a Sunni minority. No record or materials representing a nuclear weapons program were found. A shift in reasoning was required. The war advocates claimed that Saddam had close ties with Al-Qaida. This was later disproved by multiple intelligence agencies. After the justification by reason of WMD and the fight against al-Qiada crumbled, a new justification arose by way of human rights violations. The administrations assertion that, "the war was necessary because an eminent threat to the US national security because a dictator in the Middle East was committing crimes against his own people." So the military action was conducted, there planes landed on decks with "mission accomplished" declared, and the Sunni minority was unseated and a way was made for a Shiite dominated democratic government. Four years followed with U.S. troops in the middle of a civil war took attacks from Sunni and Shiite militias. Al Qaida established new real-estate where they once had none. The strategy of the war directors becomes to arm the people who only a few weeks prior were shooting ad setting traps for them. Circumvent the democratically elected governmental structure put in place as a result of their efforts during the war. Give the Sunni minority militias (the very ones that allowed the support and maintenance of the Saddam’s government.) guarantees that if they turn against the al Qaida the majority Shiite militias will cease fire against them, and they will be supported and supplied by the US military. A decrease in violence was accredited to the Sunni militias. The clerics that head the militias are requesting a more influential seat at the political table. A table where the people that they spent years terrorizing and killing now have the majority. That is where this story is to date.

The first part of this order have been discussed here and many other places time and again. I am sure they will be discussed again. However, the part I want to pick up on is the part where we start supporting the people who were our enemies. This support is without the consent of the government. A government who is supposed to be in control of their own sovernty. If you believe that Saddam committed these inhumane acts against so many people, then you have to admit he is not going to be able to do this using a dozen stuffed suites that were convicted and executed. It was going to take grunts to go through these villages killing and terrorizing people into submission. Those people, especially after the disbanding of the Iraqis army, are now part of these Sunni militias. I just can’t think of any situation that arming your enemies to help patrol the job would make sense. It would be kind of like arming the Germans after they fell in WWII to help fight against the Japanese. Even that would make more sense.

Iraq is not the United States. The complex political environment that makes up the country is not even comparable. One can not pass judgment over the actions of groups and individuals in Iraq with only the perspective of an American. However, certain truths are universal. One of those truths is that if you burn a candle at both ends and hold it in the middle, the light will be brighter, but you are destined to get burnt. Both fires will eventually turn on you. If the US position is to support both the Iraqis government and the militias that are made up of the old element, neither will have control.

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