‘Sons of Iraq’ feel betrayed ‘Sons of Iraq’ feel betrayed focus 08/27/2010

‘Sons of Iraq’ feel betrayed  focus  08/27/2010

focus 08/27/2010 SAMARRA — The Sunni Arab militiamen who sided with American soldiers against al-Qaeda during Iraq’s brutal insurgency fear the exit of thousands of US troops will herald a surge in bloody revenge attacks against them. Known as the “Sons of Iraq” by the US army that financed them, the former rebels fought militants loyal to Osama bin Laden’s terror network, but years later are mocked as “Sons of America” by foes who continue to exact vengeance. Dozens of the fighters, who helped avert a civil war and were crucial to curbing Iraq’s sectarian violence when it peaked in 2006 and 2007, have been killed in recent months in acts of retaliation. And as US forces steadily leave the Sons of Iraq, also known as the Sahwa (Awakening) force, feel abandoned and its men complain of being betrayed by the nation they fought to defend. “If our houses are being attacked and destroyed by the terrorists even before the withdrawal, what will happen to us when the US forces leave?” asked Majid Hassan, a Sahwa commander in Samarra, a Sunni-stronghold in Salaheddin province north of Baghdad.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100827com7.html

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