Word: soi
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...days after the meeting in Wana, I attended the transfer of control over the Sons of Iraq - which was definitely a militia - from the U.S. to the Government of Iraq. Many of the Sons of Iraq (SOI) were former Sunni fighters, drawn and brought into the fold after their alienation from the more radical elements of the insurgency. Their attending Major, Ibrahim Mohammed Abdullah, told me that "we are very happy that our good friends the Americans are leaving...
...What the Iraqi government will do with the SOI is a matter of great concern for U.S. commanders, who see them as allies in the fight against al-Qaeda. Iraqi officials are more likely to view them as criminals seeking to hide their murderous past. That's why the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is extremely reluctant to absorb all the SOI into the police and Iraqi army. Says one top police commander: "The Americans may forgive these people for killing American soldiers, but how can we forgive them for killing Iraqis...
...Many Iraqis believe the al-Maliki government will string the SOI along while U.S. troops remain in the country. When the Americans have left, there will be a reckoning - and it could well be bloody...
...After a great deal of pressure from the U.S. military, the Iraqi government this month finally took charge of paying the salaries for the 54,000 SOI in the Baghdad area. (Abdallah's group remains on the U.S. payroll.) In early November, 3,000 SOI were inducted into the police training academy. Al-Ameri says 15,000 to 20,000 SOI will be inducted into Iraqi security forces, but only after further verification. The rest will have to give up their arms and take up other jobs - as carpenters, plumbers, electricians and so on. "We'll give them training...
...unlikely that men like Abdallah will simply lay down their weapons and be satisfied with a menial job. Many SOI see themselves as the true protectors of their towns and provinces and have nothing but scorn for the Iraqi government, police and army. "If they don't make me at least a captain or a major in the army, I don't want any other job from them," Abdallah says. And what would he do then? "I don't know," he says. "Maybe I'll go back to what I did before." He smiles and makes the universal gesture...