Consolidation of Iraqi Security Forces Is Enormous Task

In the next three months, the Iraqi government plans to completely absorb the approximately 100,000 informal security personnel known as the Sons of Iraq, many of whom were former insurgents. They decided to stop fighting the U.S. and Iraqi security forces about two years ago and last August, efforts began to incorporate them into the government. The Sons of Iraq, or SOIs, have been a key factor in improving security in Iraq and the acceptance of them by the Iraqi government is seen as a symbol of national reconciliation.

But it’s an enormous task, particularly because only 3,000 have been vetted so far to become part of the Iraqi military or police, according to U.S. Army Major General Michael Ferriter. Still, Mr. Ferriter said at a press conference today that he was satisfied with the pace of the transition considering the many concerns that were raised when it was first decided that the SOIs would move from U.S. military to Iraqi government control. Because many of the SOIs are Sunnis, they feared that they would be targeted once they were transitioned to the Iraqi government, which is dominated by Shiites.

“That didn’t occur so it’s expected that things are moving at a measured pace,” Mr. Ferriter said.

Of the 100,000 SOIs, about 20% are supposed to become members of the Iraqi security forces, while the remaining 80% are to find employment in the civil sector, mainly in vocational technical work. The Iraqi government began paying the $300 a month salary for SOI members at the end of last year, and will take over payments for all 100,000 SOIs by April this year. That lifts a burden from the U.S. military, which will receive decreasing financial support for such efforts in Iraq as the focus shifts to Afghanistan and the financial crisis in America.

Both the U.S. military and the Iraqi government are watching the SOI transition closely, because neither of them want 100,000 armed people without jobs on their hands. But the Iraqi government is also being careful of who it hires, noting some SOI members have blood-stained hands from their time in the insurgency. When asked about the loyalty of some SOI members given their past, Zuhair Chalabi, who is part of the government’s national reconciliation committee, gave a pragmatic answer. He noted that absorption of 100,000 SOI members was a chaotic process, but it was necessary for national reconciliation.

“They (the SOIs) will be loyal to whoever pays them,” Mr. Chalabi said as many reporters chuckled. “We are working on administering chaos so this is chaos control.”
WSJ