U.S. soldiers buy their breakfast from a local bakery after a weapons search operation in southwestern Baghdad's Jihad district September 20, 2008. (Ali Shati/Reuters)From Yahoo News/AFP:
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Iraq's Shiite-led government will assume responsibility for paying 54,000 mainly Sunni militiamen in Baghdad starting next week, in an important test of its commitment to reconciliation, a top general said Monday.
Lieutenant General Lloyd Austin, the number two US commander in Iraq, said the October transfer from the US military was "a significant opportunity" for the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to show it is serious about reconciliation.
"Prime Minister Maliki has assured me that the government will help those who help the people of Iraq," Austin said in a video conference with reporters here.
"And so next week in Baghdad, the government will accept responsibility for approximately 54,000 'Sons of Iraq,' and we will be there to assist in the transfer," he said.
Read more ....
My Comment: A jobs work program with guns. This is only a short term solution, the true test for the Iraqi Government will be to assimilate these men into their security and government forces over a period of time.