US and Iraqi officials said today they were discussing forming a large Iraqi paramilitary force to help stabilize security in Iraq, The New York Timesreported today.
Speaking a day after a deadly car bombing in the holy city of Najaf that killed at least 95 people, the officials said such a force could consist of thousands of Iraqis already screened by Iraq's political parties for any affiliations with Saddam Hussein's government, the Times reported.
According to the newspaper, some Iraqi officials said the militia could ultimately take control of Iraq's cities from US forces, and that a force of several thousand men, most with military experience, could be ready in just over a month's time.
Mr Mukhtar Shokhat, a prominent exile who the newspaper said took part in discussions yesterday, said that "the situation has changed, and there is a new receptiveness to the idea."
US officials acknowledged that discussions were under way, but were wary of unregulated, untrained bands of armed men under separate commands policing Iraq, the Times reported. Unresolved questions remained as to whether Americans or Iraqis would be in command of the forces, as well.
"Efforts to provide security in this country should be unified and they should be recognized as Iraqi security forces, and not belonging to individual groups or parties," said Mr Charles Heatley, a spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority. Friday's attack prompted several Iraqi political leaders to say they had lost confidence in the ability of US troops to protect leaders and sacred places, the report said, and the leaders added that they might be unable to keep their followers from moving against their enemies.
"The knife is at our neck," Mr Said Nael Musawi, a Shiite religious leader, told US soldiers who were guarding the gate of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad. "I don't know how much longer I can control my people," he added.
But fears remained among US officials that the various factions who would make up the militia groups would end up attacking one another, the Times reported.