Militia Groups

Although American troops did their best to stop all the various militia groups in Iraq, many of them still exist. In some cases, some of these militia groups are considered part of Iraq's security. Experts fear that security responsibilites in Iraq will be enforced by "diverse group of potentially feuding militias" rather than a controlled U.S. army. Iraqi government goes as far as to funding and training some of these militias to protect Iraq. These small militias are formed of all different types of ethnicity and religions. Most are formed by local tribes, religious leaders, and political parties. Some of these militias operate without permission, and others work alongside the defense ministry groups of Iraq. For example, the Badr Organization, the largest Shiite party in Iraq, is tied directly to Iraq's supreme political parties. A few other militias also have complex relationships with the Iraqi government. The Peshmerga are a Kurdish group whose name literally translates to "for those who face death". This militia believed strongly in over throwing Saddam Hussein. In fact, as far back as the 1920's, the Peshmerga militia was fighting in the Iran-Iraq war and supported back up for the U.S. led interrigation to overthrow Saddam.

The wolf brigade is one of the most powerful, feared, and effective commando units in Iraq. This brigade is composed of roughly 2,000 Shiites from Sadr City. Members of the group earn about 700,000 dinars, or 400 American dollars a month, which is a large amount in Iraqi terms. They are also a very controversial militia in terms of should they belong, or shouldn't they. I would think that the U.S. troops are fond of this commando unit due to the fact that in 2006 they had teamed up and were fighting alongside each other. Although having these militias right now seems as a good help to the Iraqi defense and security of the country, all the different armed militia's being formed can be a deadly thing to Iraq. If these militias continue to e created with no certain and definate alliance to the Iraqi government, you could be looking at a civil war. No order will be made between the leaders of the armed militia's and the Iraqi ruling government.