Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

The Awakening Councils

Started by K Schwartz; Last updated by D Lim

Notify editors
The Awakening Councils

The US military's counterinsurgency effort depends heavily on Awakening Councils, more than 70,000 Sunnis who battle al-Qaeda in Iraq in exchange for $10-a-day from the US military. Though the militias have been credited as a key force behind the reduction in violence in the last 6 months, some disgruntled Sunni fighters are accusing the US military of using them to clear dangerous areas and then abandoning them.

Stories

Stories 21 - 22 of 22

<< Prev 1 2
  • February 2008

    • General's Iraqi Shift Mirrors US Strategy

      Washington Post  |  Feb 16, 08 5:02 PM CST

      General's Iraqi Shift Mirrors US Strategy

      (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

      Iraq Seeks to Break Up Sunni Fighter Units

      (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 »

Stories 21 - 22 of 22

<< Prev 1 2
Awakening council members mourn for their leader, Haj Udai Hameed Sultan, who was killed in a vehicle accident in Khalis, some 60 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad, Iraq on Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008. Police said four council members were injured when their truck collided with a lorry.(AP Photo)
Awakening council members mourn for their leader, Haj Udai Hameed Sultan, who was killed in a vehicle accident in Khalis, some 60 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad, Iraq on Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008....   (Associated Press)
Members of Arab Jabour Awakening, a movement of
Members of Arab Jabour Awakening, a movement of "concerned citizens" working with U.S. troops to provide security in the Sunni stronghold, examine a knife belonging to a local resident as they provide...   (Associated Press)
Members of the Sunni Awakening council of Baquba take positions in this Feb. 8 file photo. A Baquba Awakening leader was killed this morning in a suicide bombing. (AP Photo)
Members of the Sunni Awakening council of Baquba take positions in this Feb. 8 file photo. A Baquba Awakening leader was killed this morning in a suicide bombing. (AP Photo)   (Associated Press)
Iraqis pass the scene of a parked car bomb blast in the Shaab district of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, March 10, 2008. One person was killed and six more people were injured in the blast. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
Iraqis pass the scene of a parked car bomb blast in the Shaab district of Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, March 10, 2008. One person was killed and six more people were injured in the blast. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)   (Associated Press)
In this photo released by the U.S. Army, Sunni members of the concerned local citizens group are seen at a checkpoint in Haswah, Iraq Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007.
In this photo released by the U.S. Army, Sunni members of the concerned local citizens group are seen at a checkpoint in Haswah, Iraq Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007.   (AP Photo/Capt. Allie Weiskopf Chase, U.S. Army)
Awakening council members, a Sunni group fighting al-Qaida, grieve for their six comrades who were killed in a US airstrike near Samarra, Iraq, Saturday, March 22, 2008.
Awakening council members, a Sunni group fighting al-Qaida, grieve for their six comrades who were killed in a US airstrike near Samarra, Iraq, Saturday, March 22, 2008.   (AP Photo/Hameed Rasheed)
Awakening council members, a Sunni group fighting al-Qaida, inspect the site where six of their comrades were killed in a US airstrike near Samarra, Iraq.
Awakening council members, a Sunni group fighting al-Qaida, inspect the site where six of their comrades were killed in a US airstrike near Samarra, Iraq.   (AP Photo/Hameed Rasheed)
Awakening council members, a Sunni group fighting al-Qaida, stand around the bodies of six of their comrades killed in a U.S. air strike near Samarra, Iraq, Saturday, March 22, 2008.
Awakening council members, a Sunni group fighting al-Qaida, stand around the bodies of six of their comrades killed in a U.S. air strike near Samarra, Iraq, Saturday, March 22, 2008.   (AP Photo/Hameed Rasheed)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Related Threads

Iraq Civil War  •  Iraq Exit Strategy  •  US Military  •  Troop Surge in Iraq  •  Body Count in Iraq  •  War on Terror  •  Afghanistan  •  Al-Sadr's War  •  Pakistan at Crossroads  •  Pervez Musharraf


Background


» Read more about at Encyclopedia.com

Recommended Reading

A look at the Awakening Councils by region
New York Times