Sons of Iraq

Sons of Iraq
Leaders
Dates of operation2005–2013
Group(s)
Active regionsIraq
Size
  • 51,900 (estimated in January 2011)[2]
  • 30,000 (June 6, 2012)[3]
Allies
Opponents Al-Qaeda in Iraq
Battles and wars

The Sons of Iraq (Arabic: أبناء العراق Abnāʼ al-ʻIrāq), also known as al-Sahwah (Arabic: الصحوة, lit.'the awakening'), were a coalition in the Al Anbar province in Iraq between Sunni tribal leaders as well as former Saddam-era Iraqi military officers that united in 2005 to maintain stability in their communities. A moderate group, they were initially sponsored by General Petraeus and the US military.

After arriving into power, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki relied on sectarian policies to consolidate his power. Maliki denounced the Sons of Iraq as a national threat, actively dismantling them and refusing to integrate them into Iraqi security services. Sunnis formerly serving with the group were faced with options including becoming unemployed or joining the Islamic State.[4] This turn of event is considered a key factor that contributed to the failure for Iraq to stabilize that ultimately led to the War in Iraq (2013-17).[5]

  1. ^ "Iraq executes 26 men, including anti-Qaeda leader". The Daily Star Newspaper. Lebanon. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  2. ^ "Hosted news". Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 24, 2011 – via Google..
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Iraq: Politics, Governance, and Human Rights was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Harvey, Derek; Michael Pregent (June 12, 2014). "Opinion: Who's to blame for Iraq crisis". CNN. Retrieved December 26, 2007.
  5. ^ Chulov, Martin (2023-03-17). "A bloody delusion: how Iraq war led to catastrophic aftermath in Middle East". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-03-17.