Page 135 - Mass Media, Mass Propoganda Examining American News in the War on Terror

Railing Iraqi Resistance 125

tions, and other acts of intimidation, consolidating their control over territory
across northern and southern Iraq and deepening the country's divide along eth-
nic and sectarian lines."'30 These parties operate with U.S. and Iraqi government
funding, although largely independent of both entities, allowing the Bush ad-
ministration and Iraq's leaders a strong degree of plausible deniability, so as to
create a separation between militias and "counterinsurgency7' groups on one
side, and the U.S. and the Iraqi government on the other. Hundreds of bodies
have been found in rivers, sewage treatment plant, garbage dumps, and various
other locations, as Sunni resistance factions, and Shia and Kurdish militias target
their political enemies for assassination.

The Special Police Commandos

The White House considers the Special Police Commandos (headed by former
Baathist General Adnan Thabit) as a vital part of the campaign to root out resis-
tance groups. Ex-Baathist and former Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi stood
strongly behind the commandos, in what marked an ironic twist of events where
former Ba'athists were put in charge of fighting Sunni-based resistance groups.
Donald Rumsfeld also supported the group, arguing in front of the Senate Ap-
propriations Committee that they are the "forces that are going to have the
greatest leverage on suppressing and eliminating the insurgency."'31 The Police
Commandos, as an outgrowth of the Iraqi Badr Militia, gained a reputation
throughout Iraq for their reliance on torture and execution of those suspected of
aiding or taking part in the "insurgency."
The Bush administration and Iraqi government, however, turned to the mili-
tias allegedly in order to fill the power vacuum that was left after the collapse of
the Baath regime. The New York Times and the Associated Press referred to the
Wolf Brigade (a part of the Badr Organization, organized as a part of the Su-
preme Council for the Islamic Revolution of Iraq) as one of many "counter ter-
rorism" commando units.132 Quite the contrary, the Wolf Brigade militia has an
extensive record of terrorist atrocities, despite its assistance to the U.S. military
in "counterinsurgency" operations in Mosul. Shiite militias (including the Wolf
Brigade) were implicated with the deaths of at least 539 Iraqis who were exe-
cuted between April of 2004 and October of 2005.'~~ Rupert James of Newsday
reported that the Bush administration wanted to incrementally replace American
troops in Iraq with "Iraqi security forces" including various commando units
mentioned above, in order to reduce American casualties. Rupert identified the
Volcano Brigade (which is an outgrowth of SCIRI) as one example of U.S. out-
sourcing of "counterinsurgency" operations. One government official wishing to
remain anonymous explained that "no one can talk openly about the Volcanoes
because we could easily be killed," as execution by commando units and militias
Salah
has become commonplace throughout ~ra~.'~~ Matlaq, a Sunni politician
and opponent of SCIRI stated that "Each sector of [Iraq's] police" retains forces
affiliated with the Badr Brigade and SCIRI. These forces comprise a separate
police entity from the ministry, but "are able to operate on their own, using po-