SoI: Diyala

Continuing a series begun here.

As 2008 drew to a close, Adam Weinstein, MNC-I Public Affairs, sent us the following update on the transfer of the Sons of Iraq program to Government of Iraq control.

Progress for Peace: Reconciliation
Diyala Sons of Iraq transfer underway
By Adam Weinstein Multi-National Corps – Iraq
December 30, 2008

BAGHDAD – Along with a new year, Iraq is ringing in an important step toward national reconciliation and sovereignty on Jan. 1, 2009. On that date, the nation’s government will take over control of the Sons of Iraq from Coalition forces in four key provinces across the country -- including Diyala, one of the most diverse provinces, where al-Qaeda in Iraq once terrorized and intimidated local residents.

In all, 76 percent of the nation’s SoI members will be under Iraqi government responsibility by New Year’s Day.

“We are beyond the tipping point with the Sons of Iraq,” said Lt. Col. Jeffrey Kulmayer, the chief of reconciliation and engagement for Multi-National Corps – Iraq. “They have invested in the future of Iraq. And the Iraqi Government is offering them hope in the future. They’re going to be part of that.”

The transfer marks a dramatic turnaround in Diyala province in particular. “Diyala is a small Iraq,” said Iraqi Army Maj. Gen. Muzhir al-Mawla, vice chairman of the Iraqi Follow-Up Committee for National Reconciliation. Home to Kurds as well as Sunni and Shi’a Iraqis, the region is more varied than Baghdad, where SoI members have already been successfully transferred to Iraqi control.

Retired Iraqi Army Maj. Gen. Muzhir al-Mawla, left, vice chairman of the Iraqi Follow-Up Committee for National Reconciliation, speaks at a meeting on Forward Operating Base Gabe in Diyala province Dec. 23 to discuss the transfer of responsibility over Sons of Iraq from Coalition forces to the Government of Iraq, as Maj. Gen. Michael Ferriter, deputy commanding general, Multi-National Corps – Iraq, looks on. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Eric J. Martinez)

In 2007, this mostly Sunni area northeast of Baghdad had been considered one of the most dangerous provinces in Iraq, and it lacked an infrastructure to support many basic services for its residents. But, as AQI’s targeting of innocent men, women and children in areas like Diyala took its deadly toll on residents, concerned local citizens joined a movement called the Awakening and organized neighborhood watches to roll back terrorist gains in their communities.

The following year, the movement’s members -- who came to be known as the Sons of Iraq -- joined forces with the Coalition to fight AQI, with spectacular results. The addition of more than 100,000 SoI members helped to thicken the security forces and enabled the improved security environment experienced today.

“They have been critical to finding caches, bringing down IEDs, keeping al-Qaeda out of the towns, because they know everybody,” Kulmayer said. “They know who’s who in their towns and villages.”

Now, after helping bring greater stability to the region, 20,000 SoI members in Diyala, Babil, Wasit and Qadisiyah provinces will have opportunities to serve their country in new roles. In early December, they began to register with the Iraqi government to receive their regular paychecks. As responsibility for the SoI transfers to the government on Jan. 1, the group’s members will transition into a variety of meaningful jobs intended to secure the nation’s future. Twenty percent are slated to join the Iraqi Army or Police; the rest will enter public or private employment in a variety of roles, from civil engineering to electrical maintenance to working in the government’s multiple ministries.

“The goal of this program is to eventually hire these people into meaningful jobs,” said Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin III, commanding general of MNC-I. “While many of them are working in security positions right now, ultimately they’ll transition and go into other meaningful jobs, and that’s the goal.”

The program has met with a number of challenges. Before working with the Coalition, many of the SoI actively resisted it. Some members worry that their previous activities might be held against them.

So far, though, the SoI and the government have interacted well, confirming that this is “the leading edge of reconciliation,” according to Maj. Gen. Michael Ferriter, deputy commanding general of MNC-I.

Maj. Gen. Michael Ferriter, left, deputy commanding general, Multi-National Corps – Iraq, and other Coalition forces leaders meet with Iraqi Army Lt. Gen. Abdul Kareem, right, Diyala Operations Center commander, on Forward Operating Base Gabe in Diyala province Dec. 23 to discuss the transfer of responsibility over Sons of Iraq from CF to the Government of Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Eric J. Martinez)

In the past three months, more than half of the country’s SoI have already been transferred smoothly to Iraqi control, including all the group’s members in Baghdad. SoI registration in Anbar Province is nearly complete, in preparation for a Feb. 1 transfer to Iraqi control. Ninewa, Kirkuk and Salah Ah Din provinces are scheduled to transfer in early spring. Authorities said a rehearsal of the Diyala transfer on Dec. 23 went off without a hitch.

“Diyala is considered to be a very complex province, but in fact the registration of the SoI has gone very well,” said Kulmayer, adding that nearly 9,000 SoI members would register with the government in the province. “We have a very large turnout there. It’s exceeding the expectation of how many would come in and register.”

“The Sons of Iraq feel as if they’re being taken care of,” Austin said. “They’re apprehensive, but that’s to be expected. This is new and building trust takes time.”

Civil Service Corps projects continue to be the main focus of non-security job efforts, with more than 4,100 SoI currently enrolled in various apprentice programs. Iraqi-led jobs programs for the SoI, such as CSC and public works projects, remain in development. The government of Iraq is also looking at opening a number of job-training centers around the country to address the needs of unskilled SoI members.

“Those results have come about because of determined leadership,” Austin said.

Ferriter echoed those comments, adding that, at the end of the day, all the parties were on the same page. “We have a common goal: We don’t want the Sons of Iraq to turn to al-Qaeda,” he said.

“The Coalition forces don’t want that; the Iraqi Prime Minister doesn’t want that. Together, we’ll make this work.”

Brig. Gen. James C. Nixon, left, deputy commanding general, Multi-National Division – North, speaks with Iraqi Army Brig. Gen. Khalid, commander, 5th Iraqi Army Division, at a meeting on Forward Operating Base Gabe in Diyala province Dec. 23 to discuss the transfer of responsibility over Sons of Iraq from Coalition forces to the Government of Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Eric J. Martinez)

Now that transfer has occurred...

Diyala Governer Ra'ad al-Tamimi (left), greets Lt. Gen. Abdul Kareem (right), commander, Diyala Operations Center, prior to signing the security agreement outlining how the transfer and payment of the Sons of Iraq in Diyala province from coalition forces to the Government of Iraq will be carried out , Jan 4. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Joy Pariante)

Diyala Governer Ra'ad al-Tamimi (left) and Lt. Gen. Abdul Kareem (right), commander, Diyala Operations Center, sign the security agreement outlining how the tranfer and payment of the Sons of Iraq in Diyala province from coalition forces to the Government of Iraq will be carried out, Jan 4. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Joy Pariante)

Lt. Gen. Abdul Kareem (second from the right), commander, Diyala Operations Center, and Diyala Governer Ra'ad al-Tamimi (left) and Lt. Gen. Abdul Kareem (right), shake hands with local leaders after signing the security agreement outlining how the tranfer and payment of the Sons of Iraq in Diyala province from coalition forces to the Government of Iraq will be carried out, Jan 4. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Joy Pariante)

Next: Anbar.

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