.US, Iraqis to transfer control of Diyala to Sunnis
BAGHDAD (AP) - The Shiite-led government has demanded control over U.S.-funded Sunni groups that revolted against al-Qaida in Iraq in Diyala province by January - a move that could jeopardize fragile security gains in one of Iraq's most turbulent areas.
The transfer, which was scheduled despite fears by the Americans that it's too soon, will be a major test of the Iraqi leadership's ability to overcome bitter rivalries between Sunnis and Shiites.
The groups, known as Sons of Iraq, have been a key factor in a sharp decline in violence over the past year, but the movement has been slower to take hold in Diyala, where the insurgency remains entrenched despite recent setbacks.
U.S. officials acknowledge the process could be more problematic in the rural territory, which contains an explosive mix of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds north of the capital, but say they're optimistic after what has been seen as a successful transfer in Baghdad.
The Iraqi government began taking over payment of some 50,000 Sons of Iraq in the capital and surrounding areas earlier this month.
Sunni groups in Diyala, however, have complained of continued sectarianism. The government, which has been suspicious that the Sunni decision to break with the insurgency was a short-term tactic to gain U.S. money and support, also alienated many by launching a crackdown this summer.
Some leaders were arrested and dozens of men were disarmed and banned from manning checkpoints alongside official security forces.
That raised concerns that disaffected members could turn to the insurgency for support, sparking violence as U.S. troops turn over more responsibility to the Iraqis in preparation for an eventual withdrawal from the country.
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Kulmayer, who leads the U.S. military's reconciliation efforts, said the Americans did not initially plan on putting Diyala next in line after Baghdad, but Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki insisted.
"We didn't necessarily want to tackle the toughest one early," he said in a telephone interview. "But the prime minister asked us to do that and of course we said yes."
Kulmayer, 44, of Belmont, Mass., changed his mind in favor of the move after two meetings between Sunni leaders and senior government officials held this week to discuss the issue. He said the Sunni groups appeared satisfied with government promises.
"We've come away from the meetings this week ... with a sense of assurance that this is actually going to turn out well," he said. "We feel we owe these men for what they did for the coalition forces and for their country."
More than 500 Sunni fighters have been killed and more than 750 wounded in the line of duty throughout Iraq this year alone, according to the military. A breakdown by province wasn't available.
The program in Baghdad has been handed over in a phased process with intense oversight by the U.S. military and is going relatively well by most accounts. The main concern in Baghdad was whether payments would be made on schedule, and they largely have been.
But the government must now follow through on pledges to absorb 20 percent of the Sunnis into the Iraqi security forces and find other state or private sector jobs for the rest.
In a nod to the fragility of the program in Diyala, government representatives promised to bring more than one-third, or 3,000, of the 8,200 Sunni fighters into the official security forces and to build a vocational training center.
In Diyala, the Sons of Iraq are also worried about being arrested after a series of detentions for alleged crimes committed before they joined forces with the Americans against al-Qaida in Iraq.
Many of the groups' members are former insurgents who opposed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq but grew to resent al-Qaida's brutal tactics.
"We are the ones who brought stability to the province and ensured security as we fought and eliminated the terrorists - the main ones being al-Qaida in Iraq," said Nazar Ibrahim Ridha, a Sons of Iraq leader in Baqouba. "But unfortunately they (the Iraqi government and U.S. military) didn't give us what we asked for, which were guarantees of not being arrested."
Ridha, who attended Monday's briefing in Baqouba, said the groups also called for a government committee to be established to review the cases of those who were arrested and release those deemed innocent.
"We pressed for this issue in Monday's, meeting but unfortunately we only got promises without specific dates," he said.
The Sunni leaders also asked for compensation for the families of members who have been killed in the fight against al-Qaida, as is the case with Iraqi security forces.
The Sons of Iraq, who earn $250 per month in Diyala, will be asked to register with the Iraqi government starting on Dec. 1.
The last U.S. payday will be early January for the previous month when control of Diyala's Sons of Iraq is transferred; then eyes will be on the Iraqi government to take over their salaries in early February, Kulmayer said.
The groups will simultaneously be transferred to Iraqi government control in the southern provinces of Babil, Wasit and Qadisiyah, mainly Shiite areas that saw less rampant sectarian violence. The entire program will be transferred to government control by June 2009, Kulmayer said.
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The transfer, which was scheduled despite fears by the Americans that it's too soon, will be a major test of the Iraqi leadership's ability to overcome bitter rivalries between Sunnis and Shiites.
The groups, known as Sons of Iraq, have been a key factor in a sharp decline in violence over the past year, but the movement has been slower to take hold in Diyala, where the insurgency remains entrenched despite recent setbacks.
U.S. officials acknowledge the process could be more problematic in the rural territory, which contains an explosive mix of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds north of the capital, but say they're optimistic after what has been seen as a successful transfer in Baghdad.
The Iraqi government began taking over payment of some 50,000 Sons of Iraq in the capital and surrounding areas earlier this month.
Sunni groups in Diyala, however, have complained of continued sectarianism. The government, which has been suspicious that the Sunni decision to break with the insurgency was a short-term tactic to gain U.S. money and support, also alienated many by launching a crackdown this summer.
Some leaders were arrested and dozens of men were disarmed and banned from manning checkpoints alongside official security forces.
That raised concerns that disaffected members could turn to the insurgency for support, sparking violence as U.S. troops turn over more responsibility to the Iraqis in preparation for an eventual withdrawal from the country.
Lt. Col. Jeffrey Kulmayer, who leads the U.S. military's reconciliation efforts, said the Americans did not initially plan on putting Diyala next in line after Baghdad, but Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki insisted.
"We didn't necessarily want to tackle the toughest one early," he said in a telephone interview. "But the prime minister asked us to do that and of course we said yes."
Kulmayer, 44, of Belmont, Mass., changed his mind in favor of the move after two meetings between Sunni leaders and senior government officials held this week to discuss the issue. He said the Sunni groups appeared satisfied with government promises.
"We've come away from the meetings this week ... with a sense of assurance that this is actually going to turn out well," he said. "We feel we owe these men for what they did for the coalition forces and for their country."
More than 500 Sunni fighters have been killed and more than 750 wounded in the line of duty throughout Iraq this year alone, according to the military. A breakdown by province wasn't available.
The program in Baghdad has been handed over in a phased process with intense oversight by the U.S. military and is going relatively well by most accounts. The main concern in Baghdad was whether payments would be made on schedule, and they largely have been.
But the government must now follow through on pledges to absorb 20 percent of the Sunnis into the Iraqi security forces and find other state or private sector jobs for the rest.
In a nod to the fragility of the program in Diyala, government representatives promised to bring more than one-third, or 3,000, of the 8,200 Sunni fighters into the official security forces and to build a vocational training center.
In Diyala, the Sons of Iraq are also worried about being arrested after a series of detentions for alleged crimes committed before they joined forces with the Americans against al-Qaida in Iraq.
Many of the groups' members are former insurgents who opposed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq but grew to resent al-Qaida's brutal tactics.
"We are the ones who brought stability to the province and ensured security as we fought and eliminated the terrorists - the main ones being al-Qaida in Iraq," said Nazar Ibrahim Ridha, a Sons of Iraq leader in Baqouba. "But unfortunately they (the Iraqi government and U.S. military) didn't give us what we asked for, which were guarantees of not being arrested."
Ridha, who attended Monday's briefing in Baqouba, said the groups also called for a government committee to be established to review the cases of those who were arrested and release those deemed innocent.
"We pressed for this issue in Monday's, meeting but unfortunately we only got promises without specific dates," he said.
The Sunni leaders also asked for compensation for the families of members who have been killed in the fight against al-Qaida, as is the case with Iraqi security forces.
The Sons of Iraq, who earn $250 per month in Diyala, will be asked to register with the Iraqi government starting on Dec. 1.
The last U.S. payday will be early January for the previous month when control of Diyala's Sons of Iraq is transferred; then eyes will be on the Iraqi government to take over their salaries in early February, Kulmayer said.
The groups will simultaneously be transferred to Iraqi government control in the southern provinces of Babil, Wasit and Qadisiyah, mainly Shiite areas that saw less rampant sectarian violence. The entire program will be transferred to government control by June 2009, Kulmayer said.
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