Last month Osama bin Laden had denounced the Awakening movement and all those who are collaborating with the US forces in Iraq. He had termed them as traitors.
These US ‘allies’ are also called CLCs (Concerned Local Citizens). They are one of the major causes for the recent decrease of violence in Iraq. Their presence in Diyala province has meant a whopping decrease of 40% in violent incidents. No wonder Laden is angry with them.
His followers, the men of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia seem to have got the hint and have started eliminating the men of Awakening Movement. Their strategy to break the backbone of the movement is two-pronged:-
• Kill the leaders. Recently Al Qaeda killed Colonel Riyadh al-Samarrai, the leader of the movement in Adhamiya province. Earlier they had eliminated Sheik Risa who had first joined hands with the US forces in Anbar province.
• Try to terrify the rank and file of the CLCs by beheading a few of them.
About the first tactic; it does not seem to be working as the death of Risa did not ring the death-knell of the movement. One can say it has really caught on.
About the second tactic, Al Qaeda does not seem to be scaring anyone. Iraqis are by now inured to the violence and a few beheadings is not going to make the CLCs to throw down their guns and beg for forgiveness. One of the reasons is sheer survival. A CLC is paid $300 a month. In a country where unemployment is rampant, the money means a lot.
It is not clear whether Laden is directly giving orders to the Iraqi Al Qaeda or that it is killing US collaborators after they heard Laden fuming about the ‘traitors’.
