Sunnis may stop work with U.S. in Diyala

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Sunnis may stop work with U.S. in Diyala

By LAUREN FRAYER, Associated Press Writer
Thu Sep 27, 4:26 PM ET

BAQOUBA, Iraq - A U.S. effort to recruit former Sunni
insurgents north of Baghdad — considered crucial to
expanding the fight against extremists — is in danger of
collapse because the government has been unable or
unwilling to accept the volunteers into Iraqi security
forces.

The potential breakdown in Diyala — described by U.S.
and Iraqi officials in interviews this week — underscores
the challenges of copying the military-militia alliances
that uprooted al-Qaida in Iraq and other factions from
strongholds in Iraq's western desert.

It also could threaten some of the gains of the U.S.-led
security crackdown in Baghdad and surrounding areas,
including the important battleground of Diyala where al-
Qaida in Iraq claims the capital Baqouba as its base.

In Diyala, more than 2,200 former militants have
renounced the terror network and teamed with U.S.
soldiers. But American officials fear the volunteers
could halt cooperation if the Iraqi government
continues to deny them police jobs.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070927/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_fighting_for_jobs

[leftchick]

1. I can hear the fighter jets now

bombing our ex-allies to bits!

[rodeodance]

2. oh I think the US will offer supplies, $$ etc to get them to stay.