Iraq's Awakening Councils and Concerned Local Citizens Are Not the Same
By Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
An Associated Press report about a suicide bombing that killed 12 people north of Baghdad today notes that the targeted checkpoint was manned by members of a volunteer group. "The groups," the report says, "known as Awakening Councils and dubbed Concerned Local Citizens by the U.S. military, have been credited with helping reduce violence in the country." This is inaccurate: The Awakening Councils and Concerned Local Citizens (CLCs) are not, in fact, the same.
The Awakening Councils are part of Iraq Awakening, a political movement that also has a paramilitary component. It derives much of its strength from the Iraqi tribes. Though the Awakening movement is not a part of the Iraq government, it provides many of the functions of government in the absence of central government presence. The Awakening movement is led by Ahmed Abu Risha, the brother of slain tribal leader Abdul Sattar al-Rishawi. While the provincial heads have a great deal of autonomy within the Awakening movement, all of them seem to recognize Ahmed Abu Risha at least as a symbolic leader. Ahmed Abu Risha is known to be in contact with all the Awakening movement's provincial leaders.
In contrast, "Concerned Local Citizens" is the name of a program initiated by the U.S. military that authorizes the formation of paramilitary organizations. As Army colonel David Sutherland explained in a conference call with journalists, "[m]embers of these groups take an oath, sign a contract and are vetted to make sure they are not insurgents hoping to infiltrate the organization . . . . If a member does not live up to the agreement, they [sic] are kicked out or even arrested." Members of the CLCs receive a salary.
The Awakening movement is registered under the CLCs program, but the two are not completely coterminous. Many CLC leaders were part of the Islamic Army of Iraq (IAI) previously, and have no Awakening affiliation. One example of a CLC leader who is not part of the Awakening movement is the controversial Hajji Abu Abed. I spoke with a military intelligence source today who expressed concern about some CLC leaders who are not affiliated with Awakening. Not only is the Awakening movement fairly good at keeping order within its ranks, but also Awakening members have agreed to give up the insurgency in the sense that they have recognized the legitimacy of Iraq's central government. While former IAI commanders who have since joined CLCs are not a part of the insurgency in the sense that they are not currently fighting the central government, many have not formally recognized the central government's legitimacy. Some CLC participants continue the kind of insurgent-style propaganda that the Awakening movement has abandoned. Also, some non-Awakening CLC leaders seem more interested in carving out local fiefdoms than anything else: Abu Abed in Ameriya is one example. This is not to say that the CLC program should be limited to Awakening members -- but some CLC participants raise hard questions in the way that the Awakening movement generally does not.
The Awakening movement and CLCs are often seen as the same because of Awakening participation in the CLC program. But this overlapping membership does not make them synonymous.
The Awakening Councils are part of Iraq Awakening, a political movement that also has a paramilitary component. It derives much of its strength from the Iraqi tribes. Though the Awakening movement is not a part of the Iraq government, it provides many of the functions of government in the absence of central government presence. The Awakening movement is led by Ahmed Abu Risha, the brother of slain tribal leader Abdul Sattar al-Rishawi. While the provincial heads have a great deal of autonomy within the Awakening movement, all of them seem to recognize Ahmed Abu Risha at least as a symbolic leader. Ahmed Abu Risha is known to be in contact with all the Awakening movement's provincial leaders.
In contrast, "Concerned Local Citizens" is the name of a program initiated by the U.S. military that authorizes the formation of paramilitary organizations. As Army colonel David Sutherland explained in a conference call with journalists, "[m]embers of these groups take an oath, sign a contract and are vetted to make sure they are not insurgents hoping to infiltrate the organization . . . . If a member does not live up to the agreement, they [sic] are kicked out or even arrested." Members of the CLCs receive a salary.
The Awakening movement is registered under the CLCs program, but the two are not completely coterminous. Many CLC leaders were part of the Islamic Army of Iraq (IAI) previously, and have no Awakening affiliation. One example of a CLC leader who is not part of the Awakening movement is the controversial Hajji Abu Abed. I spoke with a military intelligence source today who expressed concern about some CLC leaders who are not affiliated with Awakening. Not only is the Awakening movement fairly good at keeping order within its ranks, but also Awakening members have agreed to give up the insurgency in the sense that they have recognized the legitimacy of Iraq's central government. While former IAI commanders who have since joined CLCs are not a part of the insurgency in the sense that they are not currently fighting the central government, many have not formally recognized the central government's legitimacy. Some CLC participants continue the kind of insurgent-style propaganda that the Awakening movement has abandoned. Also, some non-Awakening CLC leaders seem more interested in carving out local fiefdoms than anything else: Abu Abed in Ameriya is one example. This is not to say that the CLC program should be limited to Awakening members -- but some CLC participants raise hard questions in the way that the Awakening movement generally does not.
The Awakening movement and CLCs are often seen as the same because of Awakening participation in the CLC program. But this overlapping membership does not make them synonymous.