Rahman predicted that Iraqi forces would be able to ensure security. Still, he complained that the army was affiliated with other Shiite parties -- a reference to Maliki's Islamic Dawa Party and its ally, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council.
"We can depend upon our troops completely as soon as we cleanse them from the bad elements," he said. "I think it will be quiet after the Americans leave."
But others worry that they could become victims of the jockeying for power before national elections next January. On June 17, men in army uniforms grabbed two brothers from their homes in the middle of the night. Within days, their bodies were found in an abandoned building.
Ali Wannan Bedani, 37, said he watched as the men grabbed his brother Hussein, a neighborhood leader. He said one of them shouted: "Do you belong to the Mahdi Army?"
Bedani said the Defense Ministry has detained the army squad that operated on his block. He isn't sure of the motive for the killings, and he wonders whom he can trust. He fears for the future.
"I expect after the withdrawal of the American troops, security will deteriorate," he said.
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ned.parker@latimes.com
Salman is a Times staff writer.
