Awakening Threatend to Collapse

There is no doubt that the Sahwa (Awakening) forces in Iraq have contributed in bringing down the massive terror attacks against the Iraqi people, especially in the Sunni areas like Anbar province.

After defeating al-Qaeda in the former restive Anbar province, a new phase of the struggle for power has emerged. Who is going to represent the Sunnis of Iraq in the elections and who deserves to do so?

Sam Dagher of the Christian Science Monitor has recently written a comprehensive article regarding the future of the Sahawa in Iraq. He reported that divisions and competition have made their way between two rivalry Awakening groups: Sheikh Ahmed Abu Reesha (the brother of Assasinated Sheikh Sattar) on one hand, and Sheikh Ali al-Hatem, one of the Sahwa founders, on the other.

Sheikh Ahmed has already forged an alliance in Anbar with Iraq's top Sunni party, the Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) of Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, and was named as a possible minister within Mr. Hashemi's Sunni bloc should it return to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government. It has boycotted the government since August.

Notably absent from Tuesday's meeting was Sheikh Hatem, who regards himself as the rightful chief of Sahwa. He has assailed Hashemi for trying to hijack the movement to serve what he calls the IIP's corrupt goals in Anbar. He has even accused the party of maintaining links to Al Qaeda. IIP officials deny those charges.

"More dangerous than Al Qaeda are the political parties that continue to support Al Qaeda.… Al Qaeda is a convenient scapegoat for a lot of things.… It's open war against our enemies and our response will be swift," Hatem said Monday, hours after a truck bomber rammed into the parking lot of his Baghdad office, killing six of his guards and wounding 20. Minutes later a second car bomb exploded nearby. The combined death toll was 22.

Sheikh Hatem has repeatedly criticized Sheikh Ahmed for his alliance to the Iraqi Islamic Party, whose head is Tariq al-Hashimi, the Vice President of Iraq. Hatem accuses the Iraqi Islamic Party for trying to use the achievements of the Sahwa forces for their own propaganda:

Now, he claims, Iraqi Vice President Hashemi is attempting to undermine the movement by joining forces with Sheikh Ahmed. The vice president's real goal, he says, is to bolster his standing among Sunni Arabs and gaining a hand in lucrative Anbar contracts.

"We will not allow the rebellion of the tribes to be stolen and used by others to make them look good; we want the victory for the Iraqi people."

In a recent development, Radio Sawa reported on its website yesterday that the tension between the two groups turned into a direct threat. Sheikh Ali al-Hatem has extended the time limit to the IIP to close its offices in the Anbar Province. "Hatem threatened that a ‘disaster’ is about to happen in case the IIP kept its office open in Anbar after the time limit he set (March 24)."

I am afraid that Anbar Province may fall down into fighting again if the IIP does not pull out of the province. The Americans in way or another support both sides and are stuck to what to do in case violence makes its way back to Anbar.

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