Sunnis Step Up
The United States is empowering a new group of Sunni leaders, including onetime members of former president Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party, intelligence services and army, who are challenging established Sunni politicians for their community’s leadership. The phenomenon marks a sharp turnaround in U.S. policy and the fortunes of Iraq’s Sunni minority.
The new leaders are decidedly against Iraq’s U.S.-backed, Shiite-led government, which is wary of the Awakening movement’s growing influence, viewing it as a potential threat when U.S. troops withdraw. The mistrust suggests how easily last year’s security improvements could come undone in a still-brittle Iraq.
This is a brand-new thing inside Iraq. As Michael van der Galien wisely notes, these are new leaders who have only stepped up because they have seen something they did not expect to see: the United States engaged and active in helping their country get back on its feet. And, as Michael notes, they are watching us carefully to see if we will run away.
To be sure, this is not a final answer. At some point, these Sunni groups will have to blend themselves into Iraqi civil society. The enclaves can not endure. But as more trust is earned, and as the Sunni and Shia see that they can, in fact, work together without shooting each other and that working together gets them far more than they could ever have gotten alone, we’ll see greater progress yet. And that’s good for both Iraq and the United States.
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Category: Fighting the Islamists
