45 DAYS AND COUNTING

Gen. to Establish Armed Militia in Iraq (PAUL HAVEN, July 21, 2003, Associated Press)

[T]he top commander of American and international troops in Iraq said Sunday he is establishing an Iraqi "civil defense force,'' or armed militia, of about 6,800 men to help American forces combat the violence and sabotage that he and others believe is being spearheaded by remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime.

Gen. John Abizaid, the commander of U.S. Central Command, said he will establish eight battalions of armed Iraqi militiamen, each with about 850 men. They will be trained by conventional U.S. forces - a job usually handled by American special operations forces - and are expected to be ready to begin operating within 45 days, he said.

Someone else made the entirely germane observation today, either General Abizaid or Paul Bremer or someone else over there, that the attacks on our forces are likely top intensify over the next few weeks, precisely because of moves like this one. Once the Iraqis, especially the Shi'ites, are in control of the country, these remnants of the regime are going to be identified and dealt with more quickly and, hopefully, more brutally. Their time is running out. Posted by Orrin Judd at July 20, 2003 11:00 PM