Ex-insurgents In Iraq Seek More US Cash To Fight Al-Qaeda

A 20-year-old Iraqi insurgent trained to become a suicide bomber (Time Magazine)

From Emirites Business 24/7 & AFP

The Iraqi officer leading a US-financed anti-jihadist group is in no mood for small talk -- either the military gives him more money or he will pack his bags and rejoin the ranks of Al-Qaeda.

"I'll go back to Al-Qaeda if you stop backing the Sahwa (Awakening) groups," Colonel Satar tells US Lieutenant Matthew McKernon, as he tries to secure more funding for his men to help battle the anti-US insurgents.

Most members of the Awakening groups are Sunni Arab former insurgents who themselves fought American troops under the Al-Qaeda banner after the fall of the regime of executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Some, like Satar, had served in Saddam's army before joining Al-Qaeda. Others were members of criminal gangs before deciding to fight the insurgents, with the backing of the US military.

They earn around 300 dollars a month and their presence at checkpoints and on patrol has become an essential component of the US-led coalition's strategy to restore order in the war-wracked country.

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My Comment: An Iraqi/Mesopotamian tradition .... paying off people to fight your battles. The Romans did this. Muhammad did this. The Ottoman Turks did this. The British did this. Saddam Hussein did this. And now the Americans are doing this.

Plus ca change ... plus c'est le meme chose. The more things change .... the more they stay the same.

I say pay them double .... a million here, a million there .... with multi billions in oil revenues about to come down the pipeline, you do not want to argue about the spare change on the floor.