More on the Iraqi Militia

I didn't quite finish this because I had to run to work, but the Iraqi newspaper az-Zaman has more context for the formation of the Iraqi militia. If I translated this correctly - and my confidence is high - it is designed primarily as an urban defense force. The initiative came from the Iraqi Governing Council, which is selling it as a way to reduce the American and British presence in the country as quickly as possible. The U.S. is definitely eager to get out of the cities first, but still, the numbers involved seem really small. I'm curious to see if they begin this program in the Sunni triangle where the U.S. is taking the overwhelming majority of its casualties.