Maliki Subverts The Surge - Now What?

By Cernig

As if more evidence were needed that Maliki is part of the problem, not the solution, were needed:

A department of the Iraqi prime minister's office is playing a leading role in the arrest and removal of senior Iraqi army and national police officers, some of whom had apparently worked too aggressively to combat violent Shiite militias, according to U.S. military officials in Baghdad.

Since March 1, at least 16 army and national police commanders have been fired, detained or pressured to resign; at least nine of them are Sunnis, according to U.S. military documents shown to The Washington Post.

Although some of the officers appear to have been fired for legitimate reasons, such as poor performance or corruption, several were considered to be among the better Iraqi officers in the field. The dismissals have angered U.S. and Iraqi leaders who say the Shiite-led government is sabotaging the military to achieve sectarian goals.

"Their only crimes or offenses were they were successful" against the Mahdi Army, a powerful Shiite militia, said Brig. Gen. Dana J.H. Pittard, commanding general of the Iraq Assistance Group, which works with Iraqi security forces. "I'm tired of seeing good Iraqi officers having to look over their shoulders when they're trying to do the right thing."

It looks to me as if Maliki wants to build an Iraqi Army that is loyal to him, rather than to the Iraqi nation. He's also trying to curry favor with al-Sadr, which will probably not work in the long term. As I wrote earlier today, I think Sadr has a different agenda in mind than simply being another prop to Maliki's power.

In the meantime, this news will be a further nail in the coffin of the surge. After all, what is the surge meant to accomplish? Creature at State of The Day reminds us all of Bush's words:

Prime Minister Maliki has pledged that political or sectarian interference will not be tolerated...Here is what he told his people just last week: "The Baghdad security plan will not provide a safe haven for any outlaws, regardless of [their] sectarian or political affiliation."

Now what?

Update (Via the AP) Tony Snow says the Bush administration is " aware of the reports and we're concerned about them". I would hope they are aware of them - after all, they are US military reports, according to the WaPo. Snow also says they will be asking Maliki about them - and Malki's office has already said the US military reports are untrue.

``It is vital for the success of an Iraqi democracy to have security forces that will enforce the law fairly, regardless of who you are or regardless what group you belong to,'' Snow said.

But Snow defended the performance of al-Maliki and his government.

``There has been aggressive action within Baghdad, in Shia neighborhoods,'' he said. ``Keep in mind we are not yet halfway into full deployment in the Baghdad security plan.''

Yep, we've only had half a Friedman's worth of surge. Bush wants at least another half Friedman before he calls for staying the course for another couple. The AP notes:

Bush laid out so-called benchmarks for Iraq's government to meet when he called for the extra U.S. troops. But he attached no consequences if they were not met, and no timeline for them to be accomplished.

He has said that the Iraqi government knows it does not have unlimited patience from either the U.S. or its own citizens. The president says this is incentive enough for al-Maliki's government to perform, and that Washington cannot dictate to a sovereign nation how it governs.

Since when has the latter been bush policy? It must have happened sometime after the biggest interference of all - the invasion.