Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said in an interview with USA TODAY that his government will not force militias to disarm until later this year or early next year, despite escalating violence in Baghdad fueled by death squads and religious warfare.
The prime minister criticized the U.S.-led military coalition for an overreliance on force, which he called the "wrong approach."
"Terrorism and militias — especially militias — cannot be dealt with only by using tanks, guns and aircraft," he said.
Al-Maliki said he has rejected U.S. plans to launch large-scale operations into Sadr City, a Baghdad slum and a stronghold of the Mahdi Army, a powerful militia loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Al-Sadr's political organization controls several Cabinet positions and 30 seats in the parliament.
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