Basra Blues

From The Rude Pundit, here's a bit of news you won't likely see in the US press, which tends to focus as narrow a lens as possible on Operation Closing in on $200 Billion in Costs Thus Far:

The chief of police in Basra admitted yesterday that he had effectively lost control of three-quarters of his officers and that sectarian militias had infiltrated the force and were using their posts to assassinate opponents.
Speaking to the Guardian, General Hassan al-Sade said half of his 13,750-strong force was secretly working for political parties in Iraq's second city and that some officers were involved in ambushes.

Other officers were politically neutral but had no interest in policing and did not follow his orders, he told the Guardian.

"I trust 25% of my force, no more."

The claim jarred with Basra's reputation as an oasis of stability and security and underlined the burgeoning influence of Shia militias in southern Iraq.

Basra--where things are supposed to be stable...

"Some of the police are involved in assassinations," said Gen Sade. "I am trying to sort this out, for example by putting numbers on police cars so they can be identified."

In March, police watched impassively as their friends in the Mahdi army members beat up scores of university students at a picnic deemed immoral because music was played and couples mingled. Gen Sade identified the officers, but did not punish them for fear of provoking the militia.

Admittedly, compared to the rest of Iraq (north, west, and somewhat east, to paraphrase Donald Rumsfeld), things are certainly better...then again, if everyone else is completely covered in shit you're definitely better off if you're only partially covered in shit...but that doesn't mean you can amble off and, say, catch a bite to eat at a nice place before hosing off...