On 5/11/06, Michael Perelman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
My memory is fuzzy but here is my understanding. I recall reading about the Wolf Brigade, probably in the New York Times. The leader was a Sunni. And it was with respect to this group that the Salvador option was being discussed.
Death squads are indispensable to any counter-insurgency war fought by Washington. <blockquote>What is the Wolf Brigade? The most feared and effective commando unit in Iraq, experts say. Formed last October by a former three-star Shiite general and SCIRI member who goes by the nom de guerre Abu Walid, the Wolf Brigade is composed of roughly 2,000 fighters, mostly young, poor Shiites from Sadr City. Members of the group reportedly earn as much as 700,000 Iraqi dinars, or $400, per month, a large sum in Iraqi terms. They dress in garb--olive uniform and red beret--redolent of Saddam Hussein's elite guard; their logo is a menacing-looking wolf. How did the Wolf Brigade earn its reputation? Last December, the Wolf Brigade--backed up by the Iraqi army and U.S. military--achieved notoriety after launching a series of counterinsurgency operations in Mosul, a Sunni stronghold northwest of Baghdad. Their popularity was further buoyed by the success of Terrorism in the Grip of Justice, a primetime show on U.S.-funded Al Iraqiya television that features live interrogations of Iraqi insurgents by commandos. In one recent show, Abu Walid questioned around 30 shabbily dressed suspects, some clutching photos of their victims, waiting to confess their crimes. Is the brigade controversial? Yes. Some Iraqis accuse the Wolf Brigade of targeting Palestinian refugees in Iraq, using torture to extract confessions from prisoners, and slaying six Sunni clerics. Walid denies the charges, which have raised sectarian tensions. Human-rights groups also accuse creators of the counterterrorism television show of violating the Geneva Conventions by publicly humiliating the detainees. Among Shiites, however, there are patriotic songs devoted to the group. The brigade's fierceness has given it a mythical aura: Iraqi parents reportedly warn their children about the "wolves." Are there other commando units? A growing number of counterterrorism commando units are cropping up in Iraq, experts say. Many of them are modeled after the Wolf Brigade, with names like the Tiger, Snake, or Scorpion brigades, and operate out of makeshift quarters like a bombed-out bunker, a former girls' school, and an aircraft hangar, news reports say. It's not clear if these groups are under the aegis of the Interior Ministry. Are there any Sunni-led commando units? Yes. At least one counterinsurgency unit is headed by a former officer of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party. The Special Police Commandos, like the Wolf Brigade, have a reputation for brutality, but the group is also considered one of Iraq's most effective and well-disciplined counterinsurgency units. It was formed last September by General Adnan Thavit, a 63-year-old Sunni and former intelligence officer in the Iraqi Air Force who was thrown in prison for plotting a coup against Saddam Hussein in 1996. Armed by the Iraqi government, the brigade has heavy ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades, and AK-47 assault rifles. Most of its 5,000 members are hand-selected by Thavit and are former members of Saddam Hussein's elite Republican Guard. Experts say they have been an effective fighting force because they are well-trained, know the lay of the land, and can gather quality intelligence in places like the Sunni triangle because of their close ties to neighborhood clans. In a May New York Times Magazine article on the Special Police Commandos, Peter Maass wrote, "The integration of the commandos into the security forces staunches one flow of experienced fighters into the insurgency." <http://www.cfr.org/publication/8175/#6></blockquote> -- Yoshie <http://montages.blogspot.com/> <http://mrzine.org> <http://monthlyreview.org/>
