He added, “The Baghdad Operations Room conducted a study on reducing the number of permanent security checkpoints in Baghdad and replacing them with temporary ones as a step toward reducing signs of militarization in Baghdad.” Matlabi did not indicate whether the study's recommendations will be or have been partially implemented.
Ali Sultani, a PMU member, justified visible militarization in the cities, telling Al-Monitor, “Military uniforms and the display of arms in the street help citizens feel safe, letting them know that there is an armed force protecting them. The militarization is an irregular situation generated by the efforts to mobilize the community to defeat IS.”
Iraqi army Col. Abu Ali Hamzaoui told Al-Monitor, “The community is increasingly being militarized, due to the feeling that there is a need to take up arms given the existing insecurity. Since 2003, weapons have been accumulating in the cities and among tribes in the countryside, which can be seen in the heavy presence of arms in family conflicts and at events.”
Majid al-Gharrawi, a member of the parliamentary Security and Defense Committee, commented, “It is hard to eliminate the visible signs of militarization in the cities due to the war against IS.” He also remarked, “There is a need to invest in the many military positions in Iraq, particularly abandoned posts, by turning them into parks and tourist facilities, banning the carrying of arms in the cities, except for the battlefields, and prohibiting military mobilization activities at schools.”
Comments are closed.