US plans Iraqi paramilitary force

Iraq's civil defence force is struggling against the insurgents

The US-led administration in Iraq is planning a paramilitary force to fight insurgents, composed of members of the main parties in the interim council.

The new battalion - part of the Iraqi Civil Defence Corps - will have up to 850 militiamen, who will work with US special forces in and around Baghdad.

Correspondents say the new force will give the party leaders an increased role in Iraq's internal security.

The US-led forces are anxious to quell the insurgency amid daily attacks.

The five parties set to contribute to the new force are: the Iraqi National Accord, the Iraqi National Congress, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

Off the streets?

The move to set up a paramilitary battalion is seen as an acknowledgment that relying on Iraqi police and civil defence forces has been insufficient to restore security within Iraq.

Properly led, Iraqi security forces - with continued support from coaltin forces - will be able to win this conflict Walter Slocombe

Walter Slocombe - a senior US security expert who until recently worked for the Coalition Provisional Authority - told the BBC that Iraqis had "real advantages" over any foreign troops.

"They know the culture, they know the language, they know the communities," he said in a interview with the television programme Newsnight.

"Properly trained, properly led, Iraqi security forces - with continued support from coaltin forces - will be able to win this conflict," Mr Slocombe added.

Another advantage - according to a source close to the coalition - is that the battalion would help bring the militias belonging to political parties off the streets.

Sceptics

Coalition officials insist that members of the force will be rigorously screened to ensure that they will be loyal to their country, not to their old party leaders.

We should be dissolving militias, not finding ways to legitimise them Ghazi Yawar Iraqi Governing Council

The current president of the Iraqi Governing Council, Abdelaziz al-Hakim, has said the militias were patriotic men who would play a very useful role in Iraq.

But some independent members of the Iraqi Governing Council are angry at what they consider is the advantage the political parties will have with the battalion.

One told the Washington Post that the move was "a very big blunder".

Ghazi Yawar said "we should be dissolving militias, not finding ways to legitimise them - this sends the wrong message to the Iraqi people".

The paper also quoted a US military official as saying the militiamen would "have to leave their political identity at the door".