February 11, 2009

By Philip ForgitSAAB AL BOR, IraqSheikh Sudani is arguably the most

powerful man in the city of Saab al Bor.Entering his home on a busy market streetnamed after himself, one walks through acarport where a Mercedes Benz sits parkedon a driveway of mosaic tiling.

Sudani holds court in his living room,luxurious by Saab al Bor standards, under-neath a 4-by-8 framed poster of himself in

full sheikh regalia. Two male servants

are summoned to bringchai and a dinner ofbaked vinegar chicken,rice and pickles as webegin to talk about theSons of Iraq and hisposition as one of theirleaders.

Not just pacified butthriving, the city ofSaab al Bor hasbecome the teachable

moment for coalition com-manders studying counter-insurgency and looking forthe way forward in Iraq.Iraqis and Americans alikegive much credit for theturnaround to the Sons ofIraq program.

“Chuckie,” an Iraqinational working as a con-tractor with coalition forces,has been in Saab al Bor forfive years and has seen thechange for himself.

“SOI was the only thingthat flipped the war,” hesaid. “If you are in yourown area and you are paidto protect it, nothing hap-pens. Without SOI, it’simpossible for 100 personsto improve the situation.”

Though his unit at onetime destroyed networks ofal Qaeda and Jaiysh alMahdi cells in the city,Capt. Digati, the U.S. Armycommander here, acknowl-edged the impact of theindigenous force at main-taining those security gains.

“The change since Sons of Iraq is nightand day,” he said flatly.

Essentially a jobs program and a formof Neighborhood Watch, the initiative hasallowed unemployed Iraqi men to worksecuring their streets when they might oth-erwise have joined the insurgency forincome. Established by coalition forces, itis now run by the Iraqi army with the helpof SOI leaders. These bosses controlpatronage for their areas, tribes and fami-lies, overseeing payment of their crews andthe scheduling of checkpoints and securitywatches.

Once a month, all 3,100 Sons of Iraq inthe area and their leaders arrive at Saab alBor’s Iraqi army base to receive their pay-checks.

One leader at a recent payday had 83

Sons of Iraq in the line, including one ofhis own sons, Anwar. Standing with agroup of teenagers, Anwar looked no morethan 13 though he claimed to be 16.

Anwar’s clothes were oversized, hispants cinched at the waist and belt pulledto the last notch. He said he worked acheckpoint with eight others and had beena Son of Iraq for more than a year.

SOI leader Sudani is called a “Sheikh”by default, as are the 50-plus members ofthe Saab al Bor Sheikhs’ Council. Sudanifounded the council, but none is a truesheikh as determined by tribal custom.

For most, it is the SOI program thathas elevated their status. Their self-appointment to sheikh is by virtue of theirpower and wealth, controlling dozens tohundreds of men and their payments, aswell as security in every sector of the city.

The rise of the SOI leaders has the tra-ditional tribal sheikhs and the central gov-ernment worried that the program has cre-ated rival centers of power and possiblymilitias. To address this, the central gov-ernment has begun a program to incorpo-rate many of the younger men into thearmy or police, hoping to reduce the riskof militias and minimize the power of theSOI leaders.

The transformation of Sons, likeAnwar, into policemen and soldiers andwhat it means for SOI leaders is not loston Sheikh Sudani.

“After the mission of the SOI is com-pleted and the security situation is situated,I am going to go back to construction andestablish a real estate office in Saab alBor,” he said. “I am intended, God willing,to raise up this business.”

Sudani is close to government leaders,who control reconstruction projects, devel-opment, and essential services, to the U.S.Army, which controls micro-grants andadditional reconstruction projects, to theonly true sheikh in the region, SheikNadim of Taji, whose NationalBrotherhood Movement party Sudani sup-ported in the provincial election, and to theSons of Iraq leaders.

As our meeting concludes with chai andcaramels, Sudani is conscious of a shift inAmerican power as a National Guard unitbegins to relieve the U.S. Army here. Heturns to Capt. Digati, whose tour is comingto end. With a smile he asks, “When willthe captain be bringing by his replace-ment?”

Next –– Election Day.

Sons of Iraq are growing influenceHome-grown militia have ‘flipped the war’

Photos by Philip Forgit

Lines of men that stretch hundreds deep form on payday Saab al Bor. The Sons of Iraq have helped stabilize the region.

Anwar Felah Hassan Uday al Haladawi, a former member of the Sonsof Iraq, is now an Iraqi policeman. He holds his daughter Noor andson Felah.

Local sheikhs, who enjoy power mostly because of their wealth, over-see payment of the Sons of Iraq forces and schedule checkpoints andsecurity watches in Saab al Bor.

IIRRAAQQII VVOOIICCEESS Former Rawls

Byrd ElementarySchool teacherPhilip Forgit isembedded withU.S. troops in Iraq,filming how thewar has affectedthe Iraqi people.Second in aseries.