We’ve turned Najaf over to the Iraqis, but this little vignette (reported by the Associated Press) makes it a bit difficult to feel enthusiastic about these forces being a civilizing influence.

“Transferring responsibility is an indication of the increased capacity of the Iraqi police and the Iraqi army,” Maj. Gen. Kurt Cichowski said at the ceremony.

But Cichowski added that U.S. troops would continue to provide support if called upon. “We will be quite literally just up the road.”

About 1,500 police officers and soldiers paraded on a soccer field, and other officers drove shiny new patrol cars and motorcycles around a dusty track ringing the field.

At one point, a small group of elite Iraqi special forces officers wearing dark green T-shirts stepped forward with a live rabbit and ripped it apart with their teeth.

The leader chomped out the animal’s heart with a yell, then passed around the blood-soaked carcass to his comrades, each of whom took a bite. The group also bit the heads off frogs.

Elite Iraqi forces have demonstrated their toughness by chewing on live animals during military ceremonies since the time of Saddam Hussein’s rule.

It sounds so gruesome I immediately doubted the AP report. But here’s a picture. (Do I need to warn anyone?)

And here’s another.