Awakening Forces Shut Out Of Diyala Offensive?
Apropos of my earlier post about the Anbar Awakening, subscription-only IraqSlogger has an interesting report suggesting that Awakening/tribal/Sons of Iraq forces aren’t going to be used in a coming offensive in the volatile Diyala province north of Baghdad. In Diyala, these forces are apparently called “Popular Committees,” which I didn’t know.
“„As U.S. and Iraqi forces prepare for an anticipated security crackdown in Iraq’s Diyala province, Iraqi officials have announced that only uniformed security troops will participate in the fighting in what is termed the last major stronghold of the al-Qa’ida in Iraq organization.
I thought that was supposed to be Ninewa province, but whatever. Anyway. The “Popular Committees” say they’re ready to roll, but apparently their services aren’t wanted.
“„An official security source in Diyala Province announced that 56,000 Iraqi troops will participate in the planned security operations in the province, while ruling out the participation of “unofficial parties,” Eye Iraq reports in Arabic.
Interesting. Not really sure what to make of this. But it seemed worth noting given the continuing controversy over the Awakening groups.
