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| Iraq |
| Transfer of U.S.-backed patrols a test for Iraq |
| 2008-09-12 |
| BAGHDAD - Sunni Arab neighbourhood patrols have been vital to cutting violence in Iraq. But how the Shi'ite-led government handles their future could foster sectarian reconciliation or start a new round of bloodshed. The U.S. military will start handing control of the units to the government from Oct. 1, when Baghdad will begin paying tens of thousands of guards operating in and around the Iraqi capital. At the moment, the U.S. military pays the guards. But some government officials eye the unofficial forces, which the U.S. military says number 100,000 men across Iraq and include former Sunni Arab insurgents, with suspicion. The government has set limits on how many can be incorporated into the security forces, and some guards fear they may be arrested because of their past as insurgents. To address those fears, officials have held several meetings with Awakening members, including one on Thursday with the commander of Iraqi security forces in Baghdad and the head of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's reconciliation committee. The government has promised to incorporate 20 percent of the units into the security forces and give the rest civilian jobs or training. That is not good enough, some Sunni leaders say. "Sahwas sacrificed their lives to impose security and expel armed groups, and they succeeded. If this is not respected, no one knows what will happen," said Aws Mohammed, an Awakening group leader in Baghdad's Adhamiya district. Both the U.S. military, which has paid guards about $300 a month, and Sunni tribal leaders say al Qaeda's most fertile recruiting grounds are among Iraq's many jobless men. At Thursday's meeting, Sahwa leaders urged Lieutenant General Abboud Qanbar, head of security in Baghdad, to raise the percentage of those to be incorporated into the security forces. Muhammad Salman, head of the reconciliation committee, later told Reuters the guards should not fear for their future. "This issue has been discussed with the prime minister. Our Sahwa brothers should be at ease, they will not be pursued unless there is a judicial order which is the same for any other ordinary person, not only Sahwas," Salman said. He also said the number of guards could be less than stated by the U.S. military. He said the total may be closer to 60,000 once errors such as repeated and fake names were removed. A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Awakening integration would be a test of whether the government could create inclusive institutions or would remain hostage to sectarian interests. But he also expressed distaste for some members of the predominantly Sunni Arab Awakening movement, an aversion shared by some other officials. "There is no doubt Sahwas have had a lot to do with the security gains in Iraq but some of these guys are unsavoury characters. I would not invite them to my home for dinner. But I have to talk to my enemies," he said. Ali al-Dabbagh, Iraq's government spokesman, praised the Awakening groups in a recent television interview, adding the state would "not let them down". But he said members would be interviewed to weed out those who conducted "killings and suspicious actions" before jobs could be awarded. Given that many Awakening group members are former insurgents, screening is likely to be hotly disputed. The United States will closely watch the transition of the Awakening programme, a U.S. embassy official said. It was confident Iraq recognised the achievements of men the U.S. military calls "Sons of Iraq". "Maliki has personally committed to me he will look after the Sons of Iraq," the U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, was quoted as saying in the Philadelphia Inquirer. "They know if they don't look after the SOIs they could have an insurrection on their hands." |
| Posted by:Steve White |