"Regardless, no one is allowed to be armed except for Iraqi police and Coalition forces. There is no such thing as an armed Iraqi escort for journalists"
Err.. no. Under Iraqi law, everyone was allowed to keep one gun at home. These guns were mostly AK-47s (because that was what was issued to the army). See http://johnrlott.tripod.com/armediraqis.html for example discussion of this.
I believe there was an attempt to change this law during 2007, but confiscation was not widely enforced and the law has since been changed back.
But as I understand it, by 2007 they were not permitted to take those guns out from their houses. This is why the US's rules of engagement pretty much stated that anybody in the street with a weapon who was not part of the Iraqi security services was fair game.
So the quoted comment may not have been entirely accurate with regards to Iraqis as a whole, but it was in fact accurate with regards to Iraqis carrying weapons in the street and the fact that there was no such thing as an armed Iraqi escort for journalists.
Err.. no. Under Iraqi law, everyone was allowed to keep one gun at home. These guns were mostly AK-47s (because that was what was issued to the army). See http://johnrlott.tripod.com/armediraqis.html for example discussion of this.
I believe there was an attempt to change this law during 2007, but confiscation was not widely enforced and the law has since been changed back.