Iraq 'No' To 3rd Force

Iraq against US-backed patrols as ‘third force’

BAGHDAD — The Iraqi government will not tolerate US-backed neighbourhood patrols turning into a “third force” alongside the army and the police, Defence Minister General Abdel Qader Jassim said yesterday. His remarks came a day after one of the most powerful leaders in Iraq, Abdul Aziz al Hakim, called for patrols to be brought under tight government control and have a broader sectarian makeup. “We categorically reject them (the patrols) turning into a third military organisation,” Jassim, who is not affiliated with major political parties, told a joint news conference with Interior Minister Jawad al Bolani.

“Everybody should know: There will never be a third force. The only two forces are the ministries of defence and interior.” The neighbourhood patrols, made up of some 71,000 men including former insurgents who fought against the US and Iraqi military, are credited with having helped bring down violence in some of Iraq’s most volatile areas. But the Iraqi government was lukewarm about allowing men it once regarded as enemies to be organised in armed groups.

The United States now pays most of the patrol members about $10 a day, but under US pressure the Iraqi government has said it will take over paying for most of the programme by mid-2008. Bolani said the government plans to integrate about 20 per cent of the patrolmen into the security forces. Others would be offered vocational training for civilian jobs.

The units co-operate with the Iraqi police and army but there have been occasional incidents of clashes between the patrols and the security forces. In one clash last week, two policemen were killed and four patrolmen were wounded when they fought near the town of Baiji, 180 km north of Baghdad. Some police officials also say they distrust the tribes which recruit the men to join the neighbourhood patrols. Both ministers, however, praised the patrols as a factor behind a sharp drop in bloodshed across Iraq.
— Reuters