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Baghdad to assume responsibility for "Sons of Iraq": general
Washington (AFP) Sept 22, 2008 Iraq's Shiite-led government will assume responsibility for paying 54,000 mainly Sunni militiamen in Baghdad starting next week, in an important test of its commitment to reconciliation, a top general said Monday. Lieutenant General Lloyd Austin, the number two US commander in Iraq, said the October transfer from the US military was "a significant opportunity" for the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to show it is serious about reconciliation. "Prime Minister Maliki has assured me that the government will help those who help the people of Iraq," Austin said in a video conference with reporters here. "And so next week in Baghdad, the government will accept responsibility for approximately 54,000 'Sons of Iraq,' and we will be there to assist in the transfer," he said. The Sons of Iraq is the name given to the mainly Sunni militia who joined forces with the US military against al-Qaeda last year in a turnabout that helped bring about a sharp drop in violence. The Maliki government has viewed them with suspicion, but Austin said he was confident that the transfer would go smoothly. "And you should know that we will not abandon the Sons of Iraq," Austin said. "We'll continue to follow up in the future to ensure that they get paid that that they do, in fact, transition to meaningful employment." Until now, the 99,000 Sons of Iraq nationwide have been paid by the US military. The transfer initially affects the 54,000 Sons of Iraq in Baghdad. Plans call for absorbing about 20 percent of the Sons of Iraq into the Iraqi police or army, and re-train the remainder for jobs in the civilian economy. Austin said some Sons of Iraq will continue to man checkpoints in their neighborhoods after the transition, but most will be replaced by Iraqi security forces. "Initially, it will be slow going because the economy is just beginning to expand and not a tremendous amount of jobs (are) available, but that's one of the things that the Iraqi government has to work on, and we're going to help them work on it," Austin said. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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