Will Waddell has posted a report at the Institute for the Study of War on the grassroots fight against al Qaeda in Iraq.
What began in Anbar as a local movement of tribes is developing into a national phenomenon. In Baqouba, the erstwhile capital of al Qaeda’s Islamic State of Iraq, between 40 and 60 al Qaeda operatives sought on August 15 to attack the southern Buhriz neighborhood of that city. As the first wave of attackers entered they were met with withering fire from a group of concerned citizens, calling themselves the ‘Baqouba Guardians.’ These volunteer fighters killed seven in that first clash, including two suicide bombers interdicted before they could reach their intended targets. A call for Coalition gunship support broke up the next attack even as it prepared for action. At the end of the fight some 21 al Qaeda terrorists were dead. Not simply another militia group, the Guardians were formed in late July at the initiative of the townspeople and are sworn to cooperate with Coalition Forces. Additionally, the group is uniformed and registered in a U.S. Army database. Already they are credited with the identification of several al Qaeda suspects and the discovery of several caches of ordnance within the city. Perhaps even more significant is the group’s goal – to join the established Iraqi Security Forces. Attacks against Coalition Forces have fallen off citywide by 79% and by 93% in the hotly contested western portion of the city.
The Coalition has had great success in cultivating these “concerned citizens” movements in the provinces, but the concern has been whether this success could be recreated in the more ethnically diverse and complex battlespace of Baghdad. Waddell thinks there’s reason to be optimistic, noting developments in the Baghdad neighborhood of Adhamiya. Go read the whole thing, very interesting stuff.
