Iraq – Mediaboss Marketing

FILE - In this Sunday, Aug. 31, 2014, file photo, a Shiite militiaman stands guard in Amirli, where 15,000 Shiite Turkmens were stranded in the farming community surrounded by militants since mid-July, 105 miles (170 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq. Iraq's Shiite militias have abducted and killed "scores" of Sunni civilians in retaliation for the onslaught by the Sunni militant Islamic State group, Amnesty International said Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014, claiming that the attacks are supported by the Shiite-led government in Baghdad. The Shiite militiamen number in the tens of thousands and wear military uniforms but operate outside any legal framework and without any official oversight, Amnesty said. (AP Photo, File)

BAGHDAD (AP) Iraq's Shiite militias have abducted and killed "scores" of Sunni civilians with the tacit support of the government in retaliation for Islamic State group attacks, Amnesty International said Tuesday, as a suicide car bombing killed 23 people, including a Shiite lawmaker.

The Shiite militiamen number in the tens of thousands and wear military uniforms but operate outside any legal framework and without any official oversight, the London-based watchdog warned in its new report, entitled "Absolute Impunity: Militia Rule in Iraq." It said the militiamen are never prosecuted for their crimes.

FILE - In this Sunday, Aug. 31, 2014, file photo, Shiite militiamen patrol in Amirli, 105 miles (170 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq. Iraq's Shiite militias have abducted and killed "scores" of Sunni civilians in retaliation for the onslaught by the Sunni militant Islamic State group, Amnesty International said Tuesday Oct. 14, 2014, claiming that the attacks are supported by the Shiite-led government in Baghdad. Amnesty says the government is not doing its job to prosecute Shiite militia crimes but is also condoning them. After Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, fell to the militants in June, then-Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called upon volunteers to reinforce the humiliated military, and many Shiite militias quickly reported for duty. (AP Photo, File) (Uncredited/AP)

The accusations were based on interviews with families and survivors who claimed that members of four prominent Iraqi Shiite militias Asaib Ahl al-Haq, the Badr Brigades, the Mahdi Army, and Ketaeb Hizbollah were behind the abduction and killing of many Sunnis.

Sunni insurgents have regularly targeted Shiite neighborhoods with car bombs and other attacks since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, and in June the Islamic State extremist group swept across northern Iraq, seizing the second largest city Mosul.

In the aftermath of the onslaught, then-Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called on volunteers to support the Iraqi army, leading several powerful militias -- many with links to neighboring Iran -- to mobilize to defend the country.

The revival of the militias has deepened the sense of alienation among the country's Sunni minority -- seen as a key factor behind the rise of the Islamic State group -- and has raised fears of a return to the sectarian conflict that gripped the country in 2006 and 2007.

Iraq's new Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, from al-Maliki's Shiite Islamist Dawa party, has pledged to bring the militants under control, but Amnesty said the government has not only failed to prosecute Shiite militiamen but has openly condoned their actions.

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Iraq: Suicide car bomb in Baghdad kills 19

October 14th, 2014

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Why We Should Send Vets Back to Iraq and Afghanistan

TIME Ideas world affairs Why We Should Send Vets Back to Iraq and Afghanistan

Jake Wood is a Marine veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, CEO of Team Rubicon and author of Take Command. Ken Harbaugh is a former Navy pilot and COO of Team Rubicon.

When we heard the news of former Army Ranger Peter Kassigs capture by ISIS terrorists, it felt like a punch in the gut. We never served alongside Peter, but as veterans who spent time in that part of the world, we know why he returned. Indeed, many of our buddies from the military have expressed a similar desire to go back. Peter is not an aberration. His determination to fight for the weak and to aid the suffering is a trait common to almost every veteran we know.

Which is why his situation is so gut-wrenching. The organization Peter founded, SERA (Special Emergency Response and Assistance) is much like our own, Team Rubicon. Since 2010, we have been recruiting, training and deploying thousands of military veterans to serve communities afflicted by disasters. Our members are ideally suited for these missions, bringing such skills as strong leadership, effective decision-making and the ability to operate in austere environments with limited information.

As effective as Team Rubicon has become at assisting victims of disasters, the service itself has had a profound impact on our members. During one of our missions to Pakistan in 2010, former Marines and SEALs delivering lifesaving aid realized that the villagers they were helping had never before seen Americans in that light. Those veterans were able to return to a part of the world that had taken something from them a friend, a limb, a notion of innocenceand replace it with something entirely good. We suspect Peter was driven by a similar impulse.

Imagine if, over the coming decades, the United States could shift the mindset of rural villagers in Pakistan or Iraq or Yemen by sending highly skilled aid workers to serve and teach alongside them. Who better than military veterans to fill that role? How much farther could we get with an army of humanitarians than with ever expanding fleets of drones? With over 2 million veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. is sitting on a reservoir of ready and able humanitarians. The challenge is finding a way to re-deploy them not as warriors, but as peacemakers.

To start with, the broader public should know that 92% of returning veterans want to continue serving their country. Tapping into this talent is a no-brainer. Privately funded organizations like Team Rubicon are a good start. With nearly 20,000 members, we have deployed to more than 70 disasters across the globe. But any comprehensive solution will require government support. To that end, agencies such as the Peace Corps and USAID should create fast-track programs that enable military veterans to transition seamlessly into humanitarian positions.

We understand the risks involved. One of us, a former Navy pilot, served as a human rights advocate in Afghanistan upon leaving the military. The other, a former Marine sniper who led teams in both Afghanistan and Iraq, helped lead combat medics and doctors down to Haiti four days after the earthquake. As veterans who served during wartime, and chose to return to the front lines as humanitarians, we appreciate better than most that our military is the worlds largest disaster response organization. More importantly, we know that we carry those skills into civilian life.

Every member of Team Rubicon signed up because of his or her time in uniform, not in spite of it. They too know the risks, but still ask If not me, then who? Peter Kassig did the same. His bravery and compassion bear witness to an entire generation of veterans who wish to serve humanity. We, his brothers in arms, long for the day when all might answer as he did, Send me.

Jake Wood is a Marine veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, CEO of Team Rubicon and author of Take Command. Ken Harbaugh is a former Navy pilot and COO of Team Rubicon.

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Why We Should Send Vets Back to Iraq and Afghanistan

October 14th, 2014

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Why We Should Send Vets Back to Iraq and Afghanistan

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