The LAT reports that the Iraqi government is considering doing serious layoffs. I have no doubt the government is full is slacker workers and plenty of others who don't show up. Still, in the midst of a growing insurgency, creating thousands of pissed-off unemployed men seems like Bad Idea Jeans. But what really caught my eye is this bit buried deep down:
On Sunday, members of Iraq's elite police commando units, heralded by U.S. and Iraqi officials as a key to stemming the insurgency, staged a protest outside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, saying they hadn't been paid in four months, witnesses said.
WTF? Now, there are all sorts of commando units out there. But anybody heard reports of this before? Swopa? Praktike?
You rang?
Special forces unit disbanded in Hilla last week:
http://www.needlenose.com/node/view/1440
Unpaid policemen in Najaf in January:
http://www.needlenose.com/node/view/1012 (see last paragraph of post)
Those cases seem to have been the result of bureaucratic turf wars (i.e., the militia's patron falling out of favor); I don't know if that's the situation here, or if it's a genuine cash crunch.
Hard to be surprised about missing money when Chalabi is in the vicinity, but that would be fast work even for him.
Posted by: Swopa | June 07, 2005 at 01:23 PM
Beats me. I would say it depends on the unit, no?
Posted by: praktike | June 07, 2005 at 06:24 PM