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America's Iraqi Allies Turn to Al Qaeda
One of the keys to the turnaround in Iraq was paying Sunni militias, known as the “Sons of Iraq" or the "Sunni Awakening," to join America’s cause. Now, with the money drying up, those same allies are returning to the insurgency. The leader of one such militia tells The Times of London that “up to half their members have resigned from the Awakening and rejoined the resistance.” Writes the Times, “The US had been paying nearly 100,000 Sons of Iraq to participate in its security ‘surge’, but handed over responsibility for their welfare to the Iraqi government last month. Their pay has since dried up. Only 5,000 members of the Awakening have been employed by the Iraqi security forces.” The Times adds “There is also growing Sunni anger about arrests of Awakening leaders, including Adil al-Mashhadani, from Baghdad, who warned recently: ‘There’s a 50-50 chance that Awakening guys who are not very loyal to Iraq or who need to support their families will join Al-Qaeda again.’”