Military.com - "Abuses as bad under Saddam"

I stumbled across this Military.com article, which originated with the Associated Press.  I'm sure you all remember Republicans justifying the invasion of Iraq by condescendingly asking critics, "What?  Do you think Iraqis were better off under Saddam Hussein?"  Well, it seems that, at least in one key respect, they may not have been any worse off.

Iraq's former interim prime minister complained Sunday that human rights abuses by some in the new government are as bad now as they were under Saddam Hussein.

More below (I'll apologize in advance if anyone else posted this information recently; I could not find it).

Ayad Allawi, a secular Shiite Muslim, told the London newspaper The Observer that fellow Shiites are responsible for death squads and secret torture centers and said brutality by elements of Iraqi security forces rivals that of Saddam's secret police.

"People are remembering the days of Saddam. These were the precise reasons that we fought Saddam and now we are seeing the same thing," the newspaper quoted Allawi as saying.

There's more . . .

Allawi's allegation of widespread human rights abuses follows the discovery this month of up to 173 detainees, some malnourished and showing signs of torture, in a Shiite-led Interior Ministry building in Baghdad.

"People are doing the same as Saddam's time and worse," he said. "It is an appropriate comparison."

I don't know how credible Allawi is.  Apparently, he lost the support of many Shiites by cooperating with Sunnis in the fight against insurgents.  The article suggests his criticism of the Shiite officials could be an effort to curry favor with Sunnis.  On the other hand, given the fact that Iraq is worse off now than before we intervened in a number of other respects--e.g., electricity, oil production--it would not surprise me if his accusations were also true.  In any event, I found it interesting and thought you all would as well.