BAGHDAD — Iraq's military and security forces have taken a low
profile amid the unprecedented sectarian violence in the country.
Officials said the Iraqi Defense Ministry and Interior Ministry have not
ordered the military and police forces to operate against Shi'ite and Sunni
militias. They said the ministries, despite threats of intervention, remain
concerned that Sunni and Shi'ite soldiers would either refuse the orders or
join the ethnic militias.
More than 150 people have been killed since Feb. 22 when Al Qaida bombed
the Shi'ite Askariya mosque in Samara, Middle East Newsline reported. The attack sparked Shi'ite
retaliation against Sunnis throughout Iraq. The Mahdi Army, led by cleric
Muqtada Sadr, was said to have been the most active militia in the Shi'ite
backlash.
"Nobody will profit from civil war and those who think they will, I tell
them they will be the first to lose out," Defense Minister Saadun Al Dulaimi
said on Saturday. "We are ready to fill the streets with armored vehicles."
So far, the Iraqi security forces have been deployed at roadblocks
across Baghdad. Officials said that in some cases ethnic militias,
particularly the Iranian-backed Mahdi Army, have attacked military and
police positions.
"I think the danger of civil war has diminished, although I believe we
are not completely out of danger," U.S. ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad
said. "The terrorists wanted to provoke a civil war. But the way the Iraqi
leadership responded was encouraging and they responded in a way to avoid
going to a civil war."
On Saturday, Iraqi militias ignored the daytime curfew as sectarian
battles erupted throughout the country. Officials said at least 25 people
were killed.
"We think that by and large the Iraqi security forces have performed
well under a very severe test," U.S. Assistant Defense Secretary Peter
Rodman told a Pentagon briefing on Feb. 24.
Air Force Lt. Gen. Victor Renuart, head of international security
affairs at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the United States was closely
monitoring the performance of Iraq's military and security forces. Renuart
said this was the most complex security challenge for Iraq's security
forces.
"Is there some sense that the regular army units are leaving? There's
none," Renuart said. "And the security in the Samara area is all Iraqi."
U.S. military officials said Iraqi security forces have established
roadblocks throughout the Baghdad area. They said that over the weekend
Iraqi security forces increased patrols to enforce the day-time curfew and
reduce sectarian tensions.
"They are supported by the vast majority of Iraqis and are the great
hope of the people in their area of responsibility as they work diligently
to bring peace to the Iraqi street," U.S. Army Col. Jeffrey Snow, commander
of the 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, said.
So far, Snow said, Iraqi security forces have taken the lead in quelling
the violence, with U.S. troops ready to help. He said his 1st Brigade was
working with two brigades of the Iraq Army Sixth Infantry Divisions.
"Iraqis have the required tools to succeed," Snow said on Feb. 24. "If
they need assistance responding to a particular situation, then we would
coordinate for the integration of those combat multipliers, which is what
we've done throughout the time we have been here. But they are clearly in
the lead."