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For those of you who have been paying close attention over the past few years, this will come as no surprise. For those who have not, take a look at how your tax dollars are being put to work:

Yet, ironically, the death squads are the result of US policy. At the beginning of last year, with no end to the Sunni insurgency in sight, the Pentagon was reported to have decided to train Shia and Kurdish fighters to carry out "irregular missions". The policy, exposed in the US media, was called the "Salvador Option" after the American-backed counter-insurgency in Latin America more than 20 years ago, which led to 70,000 deaths and countless instances of human rights abuse.

Some of the most persistent allegations of abuse have been made against the Wolf Brigade, many of whom were formerly in Saddam's Baathist forces. Their main US adviser until April last year was James Steele, who, in his own biography, states that he commanded the US military group in El Salvador during the height of the guerrilla war and was involved in counter-insurgency training. The complaints against Iraqi special forces continue. At the end of last year, while in Iraq, I interviewed Ahmed Sadoun who was arrested in Mosul and held for seven months before being released without charge.

During that time, he said, he was tortured. He showed marks on his body, which were the results of the beatings and burnings. Mr Sadoun, 38, did not know which paramilitary group, accompanied by American soldiers, had seized him, but the Wolf Brigade was widely involved in suppressing disturbances in Mosul at the time.

Mr Sadoun fled to Amman to escape further official attention. His family, however, had stayed behind in Mosul, and last month his 27-year-old brother, Rashid, was arrested by paramilitaries. His body, shot in the head, was dumped on a stretch of waste ground five days later.

Our government is only legitimate because we allow it to exist. What it does, it does in our name with money provided by us. We are all, each and every one of us, morally responsible for what it does. That truth may be inconvenient for all of us, but it is the truth nonetheless.

This isn't a new story. It's something that has been around, flying well under the radar, for years. And the only reason it has never become a scandal is because we have failed to make it one.

But nevermind... our president says "we're winning," and that's apparently all that matters. Unless, of course, we're not:

Sergeant Jeff Nelson, an intelligence analyst with the US army's 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, in Baghdad, said: "They have infiltrated every branch of public service and every political office they can get their hands on. As soon as the US leaves, they will be able to dominate the area with key citizens, key offices."

Sgt Nelson said his battalion has investigated 40 sectarian killings and collected 57 bodies in one week. None had led to any arrest. He said: "Sometimes we have a feeling of complete hopelessness."

One reason why Mr al-Maliki's government was not told about the Sadr City raid was that this has led in the past to the targets being warned off. Earlier this month, the Americans received intelligence about a Shia militia torture chamber in Baghdad. Captain Kevin Sage, whose unit was due to raid the address, needed approval from the Iraqi authorities. This was delayed for several days, and, when it eventually came through, the two-storey building was found to be abandoned.

Being arrested does not mean that militia members will be kept in custody. Major Hussein al-Qaisi, a battalion commander with the 6th Division of the Iraqi army, said: "Sometimes they will back them up no matter what, and we just have to let them go."