Originally Posted by lwarmonger

Agreed. By promoting this, one is only asking for trouble down the line, as a fracture can occur between the quasi-warlords and the government, and that spells civil war. On the other hand, the Iraqi Army does require fighting spirit. Perhaps incorporating them into the army as local militias, answerable to, and supported by, the military, but ultimately subject to their own discipline and method of operating? Much like the continental army's relationship to the militia during the American revolution.