Thursday, April 05, 2007
U.S. military in recruitment drive for Sunnis for Iraqi Army
Security
(AINA) - Hundreds of young Iraqi men stood on the street in their underwear outside a Baghdad army base. The recruiting drive, overseen by the US military, was held for the first time in the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Adhamiyah. The idea: balance the mostly Shiite makeup of the Iraqi Army, particularly in this area. It was also seen as a way to address the charges that Sunnis are being mistreated by Iraqi security forces.
But only 20 Adhamiyah Sunni natives showed up, of whom only 10 were accepted. The remainder of the 156 who enlisted were mostly Shiites from the impoverished districts of Sadr City and Shaab. They had been tipped off about the recruiting drive by relatives and friends in the Iraqi Army's 1st Battalion of the 6th Brigade, which is based in Adhamiyah but is about 80 percent Shiite. Sunday's event underscores the challenges faced by US military trainers in attracting Sunnis to the security forces and keeping sectarianism out of one of the country's most critical institutions.
The effort to recruit Sunnis started at the crack of dawn with prospective soldiers made to line up in the base's outer perimeter and told to strip down to their underwear -- a security measure. Suicide bombers have struck before in the midst of police and Army recruiting drives. Karlo, a US Army German shepherd dog, is on hand to sniff out any potential trouble. The young men carrying their clothes in bundles are let into the base in groups of five.
The Adhamiyah municipal council had promised 1,400 eager recruits. US and Iraqi officials say they are ready to sign up 200 recruits on the spot, the only requirements being that they be between the ages of 18 and 29, weigh less than 330 pounds, be literate, have 22 teeth, and not have any vision or hearing impairments. The local council members had complained to Colonel Johnson that it was too dangerous for them as Sunnis to venture out to the main recruiting center at the Al-Muthana airport. So he decided to come to them. "The intent is to show them that they will be treated fairly," Johnson says.
Adhamiyah is a traditional stronghold for Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party. Soldiers from the US Army's 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, who were sent in August to pacify the area, continue to face fierce resistance and hostility. The unit has already lost 17 soldiers. The center of Adhamiyah resembles a battleground with "Long live the martyr Saddam" graffiti everywhere. Even the local council's head, Mudhafar Abdul Razaq, who had pushed the most for Sunnis to be enlisted in the Army and police, was murdered last month. He was the second council official to be killed in three months.
Hussein Qassim says that he heard that conscription in Adhamiyah was free so he came over. He and three friends had paid $1,200 in bribes last month at the Muthana center for slots in the Army but got nothing. Several prospective and current Iraqi soldiers confirm that the standard bribe for conscription is indeed $300. Only those hired when the US military is present seem to be exempt. The starting monthly salary for soldiers is $360.
General Kadhem says they will keep trying, but they will only succeed in hiring Sunnis when the people in the community decide to throw their lot behind the government. He notes the Iraqi Army's success in Ramadi last month. It recruited 2,500 Sunnis, thanks to the Anbar Salvation Front, a group of US-backed tribal sheikhs who are fighting Al Qaeda in the province. He says that 1,500 Anbar Sunnis are now in basic training, while the remainder of the recruits are waiting for training. The general says that currently, about 65 percent of the Iraqi Army are Shiites.
But only 20 Adhamiyah Sunni natives showed up, of whom only 10 were accepted. The remainder of the 156 who enlisted were mostly Shiites from the impoverished districts of Sadr City and Shaab. They had been tipped off about the recruiting drive by relatives and friends in the Iraqi Army's 1st Battalion of the 6th Brigade, which is based in Adhamiyah but is about 80 percent Shiite. Sunday's event underscores the challenges faced by US military trainers in attracting Sunnis to the security forces and keeping sectarianism out of one of the country's most critical institutions.
The effort to recruit Sunnis started at the crack of dawn with prospective soldiers made to line up in the base's outer perimeter and told to strip down to their underwear -- a security measure. Suicide bombers have struck before in the midst of police and Army recruiting drives. Karlo, a US Army German shepherd dog, is on hand to sniff out any potential trouble. The young men carrying their clothes in bundles are let into the base in groups of five.
The Adhamiyah municipal council had promised 1,400 eager recruits. US and Iraqi officials say they are ready to sign up 200 recruits on the spot, the only requirements being that they be between the ages of 18 and 29, weigh less than 330 pounds, be literate, have 22 teeth, and not have any vision or hearing impairments. The local council members had complained to Colonel Johnson that it was too dangerous for them as Sunnis to venture out to the main recruiting center at the Al-Muthana airport. So he decided to come to them. "The intent is to show them that they will be treated fairly," Johnson says.
Adhamiyah is a traditional stronghold for Saddam Hussein and his Baath Party. Soldiers from the US Army's 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, who were sent in August to pacify the area, continue to face fierce resistance and hostility. The unit has already lost 17 soldiers. The center of Adhamiyah resembles a battleground with "Long live the martyr Saddam" graffiti everywhere. Even the local council's head, Mudhafar Abdul Razaq, who had pushed the most for Sunnis to be enlisted in the Army and police, was murdered last month. He was the second council official to be killed in three months.
Hussein Qassim says that he heard that conscription in Adhamiyah was free so he came over. He and three friends had paid $1,200 in bribes last month at the Muthana center for slots in the Army but got nothing. Several prospective and current Iraqi soldiers confirm that the standard bribe for conscription is indeed $300. Only those hired when the US military is present seem to be exempt. The starting monthly salary for soldiers is $360.
General Kadhem says they will keep trying, but they will only succeed in hiring Sunnis when the people in the community decide to throw their lot behind the government. He notes the Iraqi Army's success in Ramadi last month. It recruited 2,500 Sunnis, thanks to the Anbar Salvation Front, a group of US-backed tribal sheikhs who are fighting Al Qaeda in the province. He says that 1,500 Anbar Sunnis are now in basic training, while the remainder of the recruits are waiting for training. The general says that currently, about 65 percent of the Iraqi Army are Shiites.
Labels: Adhamiyah, Anbar Salvation Council, bribes, Col. Carl Johnson, Iraqi Army, Mudhafar Abdul Razaq, Sunnis
