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What is the Badr Organization?
It is the Iranian-trained wing of the Supreme
Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI),
the largest Shiite party in Iraq. During the
U.S.-led occupation government's crackdown on
militia groups in 2003, the 10,000-strong militia
changed its name from the Badr Brigade to the Badr
Organization of Reconstruction and Development and
pledged to disarm. The group, however, has
reportedly remained armed, and today operates mainly
in Shiite-controlled southern Iraq, where a number
of regional governments are dominated by SCIRI
representatives. One of Badr's recent offshoots is a
feared, elite commando unit linked to the Iraqi
Interior Ministry called the Wolf Brigade. Sunni
leaders have recently accused the Badr Organization
of revenge killings against Sunni clerics and
unlawful kidnappings.
What other Shiite militia groups are there?
Among them:
The Mahdi Army.Loyal to the young, anti-U.S. cleric,
Muqtada al-Sadr, this group of thousands of armed
loyalists fought U.S. forces for much of last year
before agreeing to an October 2004 ceasefire. Recent
news reports suggest the militia, which controls
much of Sadr City, a Baghdad slum of some 2.5
million Shiites, may be regrouping and rearming
itself. Muqtada al-Sadr has refused to participate
directly in the Iraqi government, though some of his
followers were elected to seats on the Iraqi
National Assembly.
Defenders of Khadamiya. This group is comprised of
roughly 120 loyalists to Hussein al-Sadr, a distant
relative of Muqtada al-Sadr and a Shiite cleric who
ran on former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's ticket in
the January 30 elections. The brigade was formed to
guard a shrine in northern Baghdad popular among
Shiites, and is one of a number of similar local
forces that have emerged.
What is the Wolf Brigade?
The most feared and effective commando unit in Iraq,
experts say. Formed last October by a former
three-star Shiite general and SCIRI member who goes
by the nom de guerre Abu Walid, the Wolf Brigade is
composed of roughly 2,000 fighters, mostly young,
poor Shiites from Sadr City. Members of the group
reportedly earn as much as 700,000 Iraqi dinars, or
$400, per month, a large sum in Iraqi terms. They
dress in garb--olive uniform and red beret--redolent
of Saddam Hussein's elite guard; their logo is a
menacing-looking wolf.
How did the Wolf Brigade earn its reputation?
Last December, the Wolf Brigade--backed up by the
Iraqi army and U.S. military--achieved notoriety
after launching a series of counterinsurgency
operations in Mosul, a Sunni stronghold northwest of
Baghdad. Their popularity was further buoyed by the
success of Terrorism in the Grip of Justice, a
primetime show on U.S.-funded Al Iraqiya television
that features live interrogations of Iraqi
insurgents by commandos. In one recent show, Abu
Walid questioned around 30 shabbily dressed
suspects, some clutching photos of their victims,
waiting to confess their crimes.
Is the brigade controversial?
Yes. Some Iraqis accuse the Wolf Brigade of
targeting Palestinian refugees in Iraq, using
torture to extract confessions from prisoners, and
slaying six Sunni clerics. Walid denies the charges,
which have raised sectarian tensions. Human-rights
groups also accuse creators of the counterterrorism
television show of violating the Geneva Conventions
by publicly humiliating the detainees. Among
Shiites, however, there are patriotic songs devoted
to the group. The brigade's fierceness has given it
a mythical aura: Iraqi parents reportedly warn their
children about the "wolves."
Are there other commando units?
A growing number of counterterrorism commando units
are cropping up in Iraq, experts say. Many of them
are modeled after the Wolf Brigade, with names like
the Tiger, Snake, or Scorpion brigades, and operate
out of makeshift quarters like a bombed-out bunker,
a former girls' school, and an aircraft hangar, news
reports say. It's not clear if these groups are
under the aegis of the Interior Ministry.
Are there any Sunni-led commando units?
Yes. At least one counterinsurgency unit is headed
by a former officer of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party.
The Special Police Commandos, like the Wolf Brigade,
have a reputation for brutality, but the group is
also considered one of Iraq's most effective and
well-disciplined counterinsurgency units. It was
formed last September by General Adnan Thavit, a
63-year-old Sunni and former intelligence officer in
the Iraqi Air Force who was thrown in prison for
plotting a coup against Saddam Hussein in 1996.
Armed by the Iraqi government, the brigade has heavy
ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades, and AK-47
assault rifles. Most of its 5,000 members are
hand-selected by Thavit and are former members of
Saddam Hussein's elite Republican Guard. Experts say
they have been an effective fighting force because
they are well-trained, know the lay of the land, and
can gather quality intelligence in places like the
Sunni triangle because of their close ties to
neighborhood clans. In a May New York Times Magazine
article on the Special Police Commandos, Peter Maass
wrote, "The integration of the commandos into the
security forces staunches one flow of experienced
fighters into the insurgency."
Are the militia sanctioned by Iraq's government?
Some are, but not all. Though largely autonomous,
commando units like the Wolf Brigade are used in
conjunction with Iraq's army and police forces,
including special-ops units like the 36th Commando
Battalion and 40th Brigade. Their funding and
training come from the Iraqi government. Nominal
control of these brigades falls under the ministries
of Interior and Defense. The peshmerga, on the other
hand, are under Kurdish authority. The extent of
official government support for the Badr
Organization is unclear, but may be growing. (Iraq's
Interior Minister Bayan Jabr is himself a former
high-ranking official in the Badr Brigades.) The
government is not believed to support the Mahdi Army
and other private militia groups that oppose the
government's authority.
Why does the Iraqi government support some
militias?
Part of the reason, experts say, is to fill in the
security gaps left by the local police and army, who
have a reputation for ineffectiveness and
corruption. Their use also reflects a clear strategy
by the Iraqi government to "get tough" on
insurgents, says Kenneth Katzman, senior Middle East
analyst for the Congressional Research Service.
"[These groups] are willing to use brutal methods
and have emerged because Iraq's security forces are
not coming along as expected," he says.
What is the U.S. view of the militias?
In the past, the U.S. government has said it opposes
the use of unsanctioned militias. But on June 8,
Sean McCormack, a State Department spokesman, told
reporters that the Iraqi government's growing use of
militias "is an Iraqi issue that they will decide
and that they will deal with." Last year, the U.S.
military fought alongside the Wolf Brigade and other
commando units in counterinsurgency operations in
Mosul and Samarra. Some experts credit the U.S.
military with giving assistance to commando units in
the form of money, training, and equipment. "Our
policy [in Iraq] is to equip those who are the most
effective fighters," says Thomas X. Hammes, a former
Marine officer and counterinsurgency expert. "[These
commando units] may be a marriage of convenience and
ultimately may be absorbed into the army or
disbanded."
What risks do the militia and commando units
pose?
Some experts question their allegiance to the
national government, because they are generally
drawn exclusively from sectarian or ethnic
communities, whether Sunni, Shiite, or Kurd. In
Iraq, as anywhere, increased sectarian tension can
result when members of one ethnic group or community
are charged with policing and arresting another.
"There's a concern that what they're creating [are]
armed militia[s] with no loyalty to the national
government," Hammes says. "I think it's better to go
with an organized national army, because otherwise
you get militia[s], and that's a first step toward a
civil war." Some experts also predict rising
tensions between Iraqi army officers and leaders of
semi-sanctioned militia. Others fear that a
Shiite-led Interior Ministry may seek to purge its
ranks of Sunnis, which could prompt them to join the
insurgency.
by Lionel Beehner, staff writer,
www.cfr.org
www.nytimes.com
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