When US officials speak about Lebanon in their efforts to disarm Hizbullah and Palestinians there, they often feign outrage: "there is no state that allows armed groups within its borders," they often hectre. Oh, no there is. Iraq: "Shiite and Kurdish militias, often operating as part of Iraqi government security forces, have carried out a wave of abductions, assassinations and other acts of intimidation, consolidating their control over territory across northern and southern Iraq and deepening the country's divide along ethnic and sectarian lines."