Sons of Iraq to be Off the Streets Within Three Months

"As Iraq takes important and dangerous steps towards reconciliation, Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki continues to ensure that his actions take the lead. The transfer of the Sons of Iraq citizen militias to Iraqi government control is widely regarded as a critical test, as the Shia-led government will decide what to do with nearly 100,000 Sunni militiamen nationwide. Today it was announced that the Prime Minister had ordered a complete resolution of the issue in all provinces within the next three months.

This timeline is more specific than the previously stated goal of completing the transfers by June, and was announced in a press conference held by Zaheer Al-Chalabi, the Director of Administrative Affairs for the Committee on National Reconciliation. Zaheer also indicated that his committee had reached an agreement with the Housing Ministry to employ some of the retired militia, and that other service-related ministries were also expected to employ Sons of Iraq members “according to their experience and abilities”. Courses would be held to train the militiamen for their new jobs if they do not already have the right credentials. Some members would also become policemen, if they met with certain conditions set by Iraqi Operational Command. In the meantime members would continue to receive their monthly salaries, and these payments would be unaffected by any budget problems brought on by the falling price of oil, according to Zaheer."
Iraq Tomorrow