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Al-Qaida Infiltrating Iraq Security Forces: Sunni Awakening Commander

Al-Qaida Infiltrating Iraq Security Forces: Sunni Awakening Commander
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Associate Editor, Project Syndicate

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Sheikh Hamid al-Hayess is not optimistic. A burly man with a thick black moustache and closely knitted brows, he is one of the founding members of the Anbar Awakening. The grouping of Sunni tribal sheikhs in the once al-Qaeda-infested western province turned against the insurgents and sided with the U.S military, providing the model for what became a nationwide campaign known as the Sahwa. But that model is in trouble. "The Sahwa has been infiltrated by al-Qaeda," he says somberly. "A civil war is coming."

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