FORMING AN IRAQI CIVIL DEFENSE CORPS.

"We're starting this week to raise an Iraqi civil defense corps," L. Paul Bremer III announced on the "Fox News Sunday" television program. Bremer was in town for consultations with senior U.S. administration officials on the situation in Iraq.

The new militia, Bremer noted, "will be made up of Iraqis who will be under American military command to help us basically with the armed part of the work we're doing" in establishing security across Iraq. He did not address the planned size of the militia...

Bremer noted that establishing the Iraqi militia will bolster the country's security along with three other elements: the just-started recruitment for a new national army – "a defensive armed force, not involved in domestic policing"; the just-opened academy to train a 65,000-member police force for "policing the cities"; and an Iraqi border guard force being formed "to help us defend the borders."

However, by establishing a pro-coalition Iraqi militia to assist in the search for Saddam supporters still in Iraq, Bremer noted, "we're likely to get better intelligence about who it is we're fighting."