News from the Awakening (Part 6)

For a .pdf version of this briefing, click here.

This week the Iraqi Awakening held three VIP meetings with important visitors to Anbar: the Iraqi Caretaker of the Hajj Mohammed Taqi al-Mullah, former Iraqi Minister of Defense Sadoon Al-Dulaymi, and Undersecretary of State John Negroponte and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker.

Three VIP Visits to the Iraqi Awakening Leadership in Anbar

In his visit this week with Sheikh Ahmad Bezia, the Iraqi Caretaker of Hajj Mohammed Taqi al-Mullah praised the nationalistic thinking that motivated the men of the Awakening to fight extremism and bring stability to Iraq.

(For the article in Arabic, see http://sahwataliraq.com/sahwataliraq/morepage/more143.html)

In a separate visit, Sadoon al-Dulaymi, former Iraqi Minister of Defense, discussed with Sheikh Ahmad Bezia how the current security in Iraq is due to the Iraqi Awakening's successes in Anbar and its influence in other provinces. They both stated that it will be important for the government of Iraq (GOI) to address the needs of participants of the Sons of Iraq program, who were essentially an extension of the Iraqi Awakening.

(For the article in Arabic, see http://sahwataliraq.com/sahwataliraq/morepage/more144.html)

Later this week, Undersecretary of State John Negroponte and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker visited Anbar to assess the security situation. There they met with Governor Mamoon Sami Rasheed and Sheikh Ahmad Bezia. During their meeting, Undersecretary of State John Negroponte said that Anbar enjoys security today thanks to the effort of the late Sheikh Abdul Sattar Bezia Abu Risha and the tribal movement he led against terror.

INSIDER'S PERSPECTIVE: The Iraqi Caretaker of Hajj's visit with Sheikh Ahmad Bezia and his recognition of the Iraqi Awakening's nationalist and anti-terror accomplishments highlight the image the Awakening leadership wishes to project about itself: it is more than a group of self-interested Sunni tribes whose efforts will only bring short term gains. The Awakening sees itself as an Iraqi initiative that is on board with the new Iraq. It does not consider itself a foreign-imposed program, as they perceive many of the political parties in Iraq to be. Though most Westerners view the Awakening as a Western short-term attempt to prevent a civil war, the Awakening would be confused by that assertion. They consider partnering with the Coalition Forces to fight al-Qaeda and rebuild Iraq a means to an end: a stable, prosperous and modern Iraq. In their view, a new Iraq will only achieve stability through Iraqi initiatives. For the Awakening leadership, the visit by Sadoon al-Dulaymi also affirms the Awakening's originality. The former Minister of the Defense-during PM Jaffari's government-is a relative of Sheikh Ahmad Bezia, and Sheikh Ahmad and the late Sheikh Abdul Sattar would often solicit his support for GOI contacts and meetings when the Awakening was forming in Anbar in the summer of 2006. The support of people like Sadoon al-Dulaymi helps to legitimize the Awakening's relationship with the GOI. Also, reporting the visit with Undersecretary Negroponte and Ambassador Crocker, and quoting them saying there would not be security in Iraq today had it not been for the efforts of Sheikh Abdul Sattar Bezia Abu Risha, emphasizes two key Awakening assertions: first, that the tribes were able to do what the United States was unable to do, and second, that the Awakening sees the United States as a future partner for Iraq.

There is a difference, though, between the Iraqi Awakening's approach to reconciliation and a new Iraq, and the approach of some Awakening leaders who emerged out of the Sons of Iraq program. This week there was an interview in the U.S.-based publication The Nation with an Awakening leader called Abu Azzam. Abu Azzam, a Sons of Iraq-Awakening leader not yet reconciled with the GOI, stated in the interview that the GOI and the Americans were creating the conditions for a new Sunni resistance. The GOI is doing this, he says, by moving against Awakening Councils-and the Americans are doing this by claiming that security came to Iraq through a surge of American troops. Abu Azzam and others in this interview say Russia is in contact with them and other former regime elements to exploit American weakness and shortsightedness. It's important to note that Iraqis, and especially Awakening fighters, are offended when they hear Americans claiming credit for security gains in Iraq-when they believe it was the Iraqis who started the movement, and took the most risks and casualties.

(For the article in English, see http://www.thenation.com/doc/20081013/dreyfuss).

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Sterling Jensen worked as an Army contract linguist from the spring of 2006 to June 2007, during which time he was heavily involved in the U.S. government's tribal engagements as the Anbar Awakening took shape. He returned to Anbar in February 2008 as the Marines' first-ever civilian Foreign Area Officer, tasked with facilitating the First Marine Expeditionary Force's relations with Awakening leadership, religious leaders, and foreign regime elements. Jensen is currently enrolled in a Master's program at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.