Sunni Arab Awakening CouncilsDark Days For Iraq's Awakening -- Time Magazine
Farooq al-Obeidi sensed his killers were near. "We have been penetrated by al-Qaeda," said al-Obeidi, a top commander of the Sunni Awakening group in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Adhamiya.
Al-Obeidi's band of citizen fighters and local watchmen, divisions of the U.S.-backed Awakening movement around Iraq, have been critical to the taming of the insurgent-infested areas since 2006. As a consequence, they have faced regular assassination attempts from militants aligned with al-Qaeda in Iraq, the umbrella organization for Sunni insurgents. Al-Obeidi said four of his men had been killed since the beginning of the year. And, just about a month after speaking with TIME, al-Obeidi himself was dead. On August 17, a suicide bomber walked up toward al-Obeidi and a team of his bodyguards as they gathered at a checkpoint in Adhamiya. The ensuing blast killed al-Obeidi and nine others and maimed 20. A few days later a militant Website linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq posted a message claiming responsibility.
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My Comment: On the one hand .... it is unfortunate that the role that these paid gunmen played in taming the insurgency in the Sunni areas of Iraq is coming to an end. On the other hand .... they could not exist as an armed militia as Iraq continues to develop its army and police forces.
The 2 key questions now are (1) when to disband them .... and (2) what role will they play in a future Iraq. This is something that the Iraqi Government will have to decide. My hope is that they will decide wisely.