Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Arizona Daily Star (Tucson)
April 3, 2009
By Associated Press
BAGHDAD — Last weekend's crackdown on a government-allied Sunni paramilitary group in Baghdad was not politically motivated and followed a six-month investigation that tied the commander to crimes and subversion, Iraq's prime minister said Thursday.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, in his first public comment on the two-day gunbattles in the Fadhil neighborhood, told Iraqi state television that the crackdown sends a message that those who want to undermine the political process "will face the same fate."
Members of the Awakening Council in Fadhil launched an uprising Saturday after police arrested their leader on charges of terrorism, murder, extortion and leading a cell loyal to Saddam Hussein's banned Baath party.
The move alarmed leaders of other councils — made up of Sunnis who turned against the insurgency and help provide security in their neighborhoods
In his television interview, al-Maliki, who is a Shiite, said U.S. authorities were initially skeptical of the allegations until "documents were presented in the joint (U.S.-Iraqi security) committee" showing that the Fadhil leadership was involved in crime and underground Baath party activities.
April 3, 2009
By Associated Press
BAGHDAD — Last weekend's crackdown on a government-allied Sunni paramilitary group in Baghdad was not politically motivated and followed a six-month investigation that tied the commander to crimes and subversion, Iraq's prime minister said Thursday.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, in his first public comment on the two-day gunbattles in the Fadhil neighborhood, told Iraqi state television that the crackdown sends a message that those who want to undermine the political process "will face the same fate."
Members of the Awakening Council in Fadhil launched an uprising Saturday after police arrested their leader on charges of terrorism, murder, extortion and leading a cell loyal to Saddam Hussein's banned Baath party.
The move alarmed leaders of other councils — made up of Sunnis who turned against the insurgency and help provide security in their neighborhoods
In his television interview, al-Maliki, who is a Shiite, said U.S. authorities were initially skeptical of the allegations until "documents were presented in the joint (U.S.-Iraqi security) committee" showing that the Fadhil leadership was involved in crime and underground Baath party activities.