The Awakening Councils

Stories

12 Stories

September 2008
- Forces Key to Iraq Security Lose Steam as US Hands Off
  
  Washington Post | Sep 30, 08 1:18 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - As Iraq's Shia-led government assumes greater control of security, US soldiers fear the sudden disintegration of the 54,000-strong Sunni force that had been key to improving conditions there, the Washington Post reports. The government has pledged to hire 20% of the so-called Sons of Iraq, but that still leaves the haunting prospect of thousands of young men “unemployed, with weapons,” says a US captain. More »
- Sectarian Arrests Threaten Iraq Security
  
  USA Today | Sep 23, 08 1:21 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Sunnis of the Awakening Council, which helped the US fight al-Qaeda in Iraq, are in hiding to avoid arrest by the Shia-led government, USA Today reports. Such political harassment could allow al-Qaeda to regain footing in volatile Diyala province and elsewhere, US officials say. Iraqi government members insist their actions are motivated by security, not sectarian politics. More »
- Return to Iraq: A Fragile Peace That's Jarring
  
  New York Times | Sep 21, 08 9:04 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - When Dexter Filkins left Baghdad in 2006, it was a city of shuttered buildings and fearful citizens, in a land that looked as though it would never recover from war. But, writes the war correspondent in the New York Times, “to return now is to be jarred in the oddest way possible: by the normal, by the pleasant, even by hope”—reopened, packed shops, people outside at night, women walking alone. More »
- US Hands Anbar Province to Iraqis
  
  BBC | Sep 1, 08 6:30 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The American military is finally handing over control of Anbar province, once the center of the Sunni insurgency, to Iraqi forces today. Once one of Iraq's most dangerous regions, Anbar was transformed as Sunni militants allied themselves with the US. The transfer of Anbar, delayed several times, brings the number of provinces under Iraqi control to 11 out of 18, reports the BBC. More »
August 2008
- Iraq Cracks Down on US-Allied Sunni Fighters
  
  New York Times | Aug 22, 08 6:30 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Iraq's Shiite-dominated government has begun a crackdown on groups of US-backed Sunni fighters, the New York Times reports. The government fears the fighters, part of what is called the Awakening movement, could be waiting to turn their guns on Shiites. In several parts of the country senior members have been arrested in recent weeks, and hundreds of others, many of them on the US payroll, have been targeted. More »
March 2008
- US Air Strike Kills 6 Sunni Allies
  
  CNN | Mar 22, 08 2:50 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - US helicopters opened fire on two checkpoints manned by a pro-American group today, killing six members of the Sons of Iraq and injuring two civilians. The attack could exacerbate already strained tensions between the US and the Awakening Councils it employs, CNN reports. The US said that its helicopter opened fire after it spotted five people “conducting suspicious terrorist activity.” More »
- Sunni Militias Threaten Strike Over Late Pay
  
  Guardian (UK) | Mar 21, 08 9:53 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - US-allied Sunni militias are threatening to go on strike over late pay. At least two of the 49 Awakening councils that have been enlisted in the fight against al-Qaeda in Iraq have already done so, reports the Guardian , and the dispute over their $10-a-day payments threatens the partnership that has been key to the reduction in violence in the last 6 months, say analysts. More »
- Baghdad Blast Kills 5 US Troops
  
  BBC | Mar 10, 08 1:55 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Five American troops are dead after a suicide bomber struck today in the Mansour district of Baghdad, the BBC reports. The soldiers were patrolling a busy shopping center when a young man wearing an explosive vest engaged them in conversation shortly before detonating, said a military spokesman. Three other service members and an Iraqi interpreter were wounded in the blast. More »
- Female Bomber Kills Anti-Qaeda Sunni Sheik
  
  Associated Press | Mar 10, 08 7:17 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A female suicide bomber assassinated a Sunni Awakening leader in his Diyala province home today, the AP reports, killing the sheik’s bodyguard, cousin, and 5-year-old niece along with him. The woman had come to see the sheik yesterday, saying her husband had been kidnapped and was begging for help. “She came back this morning and nobody checked her,” the sheik’s brother said. More »
February 2008
- Sunni Fighters Growing Tired of US Neglect
  
  Washington Post | Feb 28, 08 12:06 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The mostly Sunni volunteer forces that have drastically improved Iraq’s security are losing patience with US handlers, the Washington Post reports. Desertions are under way in key provinces over lack of resources, political disagreements, and disputed accounts of US troops killing members of the so-called Sunni Awakening. “Now, there is no cooperation with Americans,” one commander said. “We have stopped fighting al-Qaeda.” More »
- General's Iraqi Shift Mirrors US Strategy
  
  Washington Post | Feb 16, 08 5:02 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Gen Raymond Odierno stepped down from his post as the No. 2 general in Iraq this week, having evolved from a proponent of heavy-handed tactics to a believer in nonlethal methods to win favor with Iraqis and reduce violence, the Washington Post reports. In a lengthy profile of the so-called General O, the Post says his conversion in many ways mirrors the larger shift in strategy of the US military. More »
December 2007
- Iraq Seeks to Break Up Sunni Fighter Units
  
  Associated Press | Dec 23, 07 11:20 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Iraq's Shiite-dominated government is demanding that Sunni militias who are helping fight Islamic extremists eventually disband, fearing they will otherwise turn into their own military force. The militias, called Awakening Councils, or Concerned Local Citizens, comprise more than 70,000 Iraqis, including former insurgents, and are funded by the United States. More »