U.S. cautious on Iraqi militias joining army - 'individuals only'

reuters: The United States believes that members of Iraqi militias should be allowed to join the U.S.-trained Iraqi army only on an individual basis rather than in groups, a senior U.S. official said on Monday.

Iraq's new Prime Minister-designate Jawad al-Maliki said last weekend that powerful sectarian militias should be disbanded and merged with Iraq's military. Such a move would be highly sensitive since the militias are each tied to different ethnic groups and political parties.

"It's a good proposal in principle but the devil is always in the details," the official said. "How you integrate them is important. It must be focused on individuals and not units." Read more

db: Another winning strategy - individuals only - that will fool them.