Shiite militias on the loose

This Knight Ridder report takes the angle that the Americans made a "mistake" letting Shiite militas overrun Iraq, but it seems in all probability that the "inaction" the article laments was in fact a conscious choice whereby the US would, at the least, look the other way while the militias wreaked their havoc.

I mean, are we not supposed to remember the fact that the DoD announced it was considering using the militias to beat back the Sunni insurgency? Likewise, are we supposed to ignore the copious amount of evidence the US military has been looking to enlist local "irregulars" to do its dirty work? Do they take us for idiots?