U.S. Troops, Militias at Odds over Role Protecting Iraqis

Oct. 3--BAGHDAD, Iraq - Shiite Muslim militiamen swagger in increasing numbers through the streets around Baghdad's mosques and elsewhere in Iraq these days, openly carrying AK-47 rifles, pistols and other weapons in defiance of the U.S.-backed Coalition Provisional Authority.

"Our position is that we are not going to tolerate militias," Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top coalition commander, said Thursday. "And where we find them, we are going to go ahead and disarm them."

The militias threaten to undermine the central authority of the U.S.-led coalition. They're becoming a headache for American troops and a nascent Iraqi security apparatus struggling to establish law and order six months after Saddam Hussein's ouster.

And American forces aren't sure how to respond: If they crack down too hard, they risk more armed confrontations, a situation that could spin out of control quickly.

Iraq is awash in guns, and there are many armed groups associated with the various political parties, especially with the powerful exiles on Iraq's interim Governing Council. But the resurgent Shiite militias are a special case. Long persecuted under Saddam, they are relishing their newfound political and social freedom, and many vow to die rather than give up those liberties.

In the latest incident, U.S. soldiers exchanged fire Wednesday with a group of about 50 militiamen and police after they were met by stone-throwing demonstrators at a Baghdad mosque. Miraculously, no one was hurt, and the soldiers withdrew to avoid risking a bloody confrontation.

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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/6922124.htm

I would imagine that they would indeed be at odds.