In Iraq, 2 Key U.S. Allies Face Off (Government Riles Sunni Awakening With Leader's Arrest)

[sabra]

Source: WP

Government Riles Sunni Awakening With Leader's Arrest

The struggle, which played out in fierce weekend clashes, pits two vital American allies against each other. On Sunday, Iraqi soldiers backed by U.S. combat helicopters and American troops swept into a central Baghdad neighborhood, arresting U.S.-backed Sunni fighters in an effort to clamp down on a two-day uprising that challenged the Iraqi government's authority and its efforts to pacify the capital.

But the fallout from the operation is already rippling far beyond the city's boundaries. Both the Iraqi security forces and the Sunni fighters, known as the Awakening, are cornerstones in the American strategy to bring stability. The Awakening, in particular, is widely viewed as a key reason violence has dramatically dropped across Iraq.

Many leaders of the Awakening, mostly former Sunni insurgents who joined hands with U.S. forces to fight the insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq, have long had a contentious relationship with Iraq's Shiite-led government. But the weekend battles have sparked fresh frustration and mistrust of both the U.S. military and Iraq's mostly Shiite security forces, according to interviews with Awakening leaders across the country.

"The situation is now very fragile, and no Awakening member would remain silent over this injustice," said Saad Abbas al-Luhaibi, leader of an Awakening group in Anbar province. The tensions raise concerns that uprisings could erupt in other Awakening-controlled areas -- or that many Awakening fighters could return to the insurgency, allowing al-Qaeda in Iraq to fill the vacuum in Sunni areas.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/29/AR2009032902551.html

[Tempest]

1. Rice will claim no one could see this coming

Arming the insurgent group was never a good idea, except by short-sighted morons like the Bush administration.

This will blowback on the U.S. in short order.

[sabra]

2. yep - so lets see they haven't integrated them into the Iraqi security

forces (as promised), aren't paying them the same $ as the US, and are arresting their leaders... "no one could see this coming" :sarcasm: