The military high command and Mr Montesinos, who picked those commanders, apparently want to guard against any retribution by a new government.
Those commanders are consulted now but have no final say.
The men under those commanders "have spent years doing exactly what they wanted in the north.
Those commanders, they say, have seen little evidence of United States support.
One of those commanders is now holding Hamza Hirazi, the officer who oversaw the massacre at the Yarmouk prison.
Now, more than 13 years later, one of those commanders is back and perhaps more dangerous than ever.
The authorized militias usually still report to their original commanders, and those commanders may or may not follow orders from the Defense Ministry or act on their own.
Those commanders who are corrupt or fail to ensure proper pay, food or vacation for their subordinates have higher attrition.
Many of those commanders are assumed to cross porous borders into Ecuador and Venezuela, where they are hard to track.
Some of those commanders were also taken by force but still they have to account for their crimes.
If there was not, then the supporters of those commanders "would have lost an important prop to their case".
