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New Operation Gets Surprise Support
by Ahmed Ali and Dahr Jamail
A massive military operation in Diyala province has underscored the military and political gains by the Sahwa militia, despite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's earlier attempts to thwart them. Maliki has now apparently come around to involving the Sahwa rather than opposing them.
The Sahwa are the 'Awakening Forces' created and paid by the U.S. military to co-opt militants and to fight al-Qaeda, but which have become a force of their own parallel to the military and the police.
BAQUBA, Aug 5 (IPS) - They are a mostly Sunni militia of about 90,000 comprising mostly
former anti-occupation resistance fighters and even al-Qaeda members.
Each member is paid 300 dollars monthly.
The Sahwa have long
been at odds with the regular Iraqi forces, but they came out in
strength this time following a promise of 3,000 jobs for their members
in the national police.
The move came after Maliki, who leads a
Shia dominated government, dropped his long opposition to absorption of
Sahwa members in government forces.
"Tomorrow you will take your
role with us in our operation to attack al-Qaeda militants," General
Ali Gaidan, commander of the ground forces, said at a meeting of Sahwa
leaders with Maliki at a camp near Kanan district, 12 km northeast of
Baquba on Aug. 2.
Maliki came round reportedly after Sahwa
leaders told Gaidan they have a list of militants, with evidence on
them, that government forces know nothing about.
Named 'Good
Tiding', the military operation was launched Jul. 29 in the volatile
Diyala province north-east of Baghdad and on the border with Iran to
hunt down al-Qaeda fighters and supporters. Both Iraqi military and
Sahwa forces were drawn into the operation. The capital city of the
province, Baquba, 50 km northeast of Baghdad, was placed under curfew
for two days to let security forces search the area. A night curfew was
maintained as the operation continues.
Ministry of interior
spokesman Abdul-Kareem Khalaf says operation plans were leaked to allow
militants to escape.
"We intentionally allowed them (the militants) to
flee in order to create a gap between their leaders and followers from
the chaos," Khalaf told reporters.
Khalaf referred to a practice
of intentionally giving militants time to flee in the hope that
lower-ranking fighters will flee, creating a schism between regular
fighters and their leadership.
"When they get back again, they
will find no ground for them to work, as we will have changed the area
with this operation," a major-general from the criminal investigation
unit in Baquba told IPS on condition of anonymity.
The police,
the army, the criminal investigation unit from the interior ministry, a
group of judges, the traffic police, and interior ministry commandos
were all roped into the operation. In what was clearly at least partly
a publicity manoeuvre, staff from the water, electricity, and health
departments were also recruited. Ministers and local politicians made
appearances, giving the operation an almost ceremonial feel.
Through
the operation, which continues with low levels of home searches, the
forces have besieged the province. Checkpoints have been set up in the
streets. Vehicle movement is restricted.
"When a person is
arrested, he has to be produced before a committee of judges at
al-Jawal, an Iraqi army camp near Baquba," said an army general, on
condition of anonymity. The general added that the trails were for
"terrorist suspects".
The Sahwa have been given a strong role in the operation. They were deployed in large numbers, contrary to expectations.
The
coming together of these disparate forces was unexpectedly welcomed.
"We expected to see cruelty by the forces," Amir Ali, a local trader,
told IPS. "We found them very polite and well-mannered. They politely
asked us to get in the house. We are greatly surprised and very
impressed."
According to witnesses, people offered the forces meals and water, and some even invited them to shower in their house.
According
to Iraqi officials, about 100 policemen and 165 civilians have been
arrested so far since the launch of the operation. The operation is
particularly targeting suspected al-Qaeda members working within the
police force.
The Sahwa, at least in Diyala province, now enjoy
a presence within the government security apparatus, a goal they have
long sought.
Ahmed Ali, our correspondent in Iraq's Diyala
province, works in close collaboration with Dahr Jamail, our U.S.-based
specialist writer on Iraq who has reported extensively from Iraq and
the Middle East.
Dahr Jamail's new book, /Beyond the Green Zone/ is NOW AVAILABLE!
"International journalism at its best." --Stephen Kinzer, former bureau chief, New York Times; author /All the Shah's Men/
"Essential
reading for anybody who wants to know what is really happening in
Iraq." --Patrick Cockburn, Middle East correspondent for The
Independent; author of /The Occupation: War and Resistance in Iraq/
Order /Beyond the Green Zone/ today!
http://dahrjamailiraq.com/bookpage
Winner of the prestigious 2008 Martha Gellhorn Award for Jounalism!
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(c)2008 Dahr Jamail.
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