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Where Carrying a Gun Is the Easiest Way to Make a Living
November 12, 2008 11:03 AM
By VLADIMIR LOZINSKI and AADEL RASHID, ABC News Baghdad
In a country with almost no employment, carrying a gun is still the easiest way to make a living.
Ali Qasim, a 23-year-old former shopkeeper, got in line Monday for his first paycheck as a member of Sons of Iraq, the government-sponsored militia viewed as a major force in bringing peace and stability to Iraq. Unemployment across Iraq runs between 50 percent and 75 percent, making carrying a gun one of the only job options left for an Iraqi to feed his family.
“The Americans paid us $300 per month, but since the Iraqi government took over, we earn $260 a month,” he said. “It is not worth it to sacrifice my soul for this amount of money."
Recalling a time when he owned a small grocery shop, Ali remembers when al Qaeda Iraq members came in and offered him $400 for each IED he planted and $700 if the operation was captured on tape. He was also offered $5,000 a month and a good fast car and weapon to join AQI full time. He closed his shop and left the neighbourhood immediately for more than two months.
The American military developed Awakening Councils in February 2007, to protect neighborhoods against AQI, Jaysh Mahdi and outlaws, and to draw rogue militas to the government’s side. They were originally made up mainly of Sunni insurgents, but the name was changed this year to Sons of Iraq to incorporate Shiite members. The initiative was a success and has now been handed over to the Iraqi government. “I don’t think that the Iraqi government neither the Multi National Forces could achieve such success and security without their Sons of Iraq participation,” Iraqi Government spokesman Ali Al Dhabbagh told ABC News.
The government said it will retain up to 50 percent of the Sons of Iraq and integrate them into the military and police force. Former members will continue to carry guns and have been offered training courses to help them learn new skills to support their families. Some of the members didn’t hide their anger and frustration over the new salary paid by the government. Half of the Ghazaliya Guardians Sons of Iraq brigade in western Baghdad have quit, according to former members.
The security situation has deteriorated this week, with five car bombs killing at least 38 people. The heightened violence comes as U.S. and Iraqi officials try to agree on a security deal that would keep U.S. troops in Iraq until the end of 2011.
The Political Council for Iraqi Resistance, a coalition of six Iraqi insurgent groups, came together to call for an increase in attacks against U.S. and Iraqi forces, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, an Internet monitoring service.
Abu Al Qa’qa the Syrian National Imam was recruiting fighters and sending them to Iraq, but in late 2006, he shaved his beard and stopped calling his people to jihad. He was then assassinated in September 2007. Quitting AQI is not an option.
ABC's Baghdad bureau contributed to this blog.
November 12, 2008 in Vladimir Lozinski | Permalink | User Comments (6)
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Do they really have a soul to keep or to sell?
Choosing to commit mass murder for money rather than defend one's country, or tend to one's business, because it pays more, is a legitimate choice? The world over, we all have that choice, most of us Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, etc... , choose to make less and keep our self respect and our souls.
Posted by: miumiu48 | Nov 12, 2008 11:23:06 AM
religious fanatics rule the media outlets there ,and the middle east at large as well. free press is the cornerstone of democracy, thanks abc news and reporters/bloggers/staffers...youre what its all about baby.
but until that one sided media barrage changes or is changed somehow the avg hassim or abdullah wont be able to get a taste of the outside world ,and consequently the less intellectual (and therefor less progressive) islamic nations ,especially the fringe elements of such nations ,will continue to be problematic and extremely dangerous.
i am glad to see that pres elect obama is already setting the tone for less us involvement in iraq but he clearly knows what a powder keg the middle east is and ,being a specialist in foreign diplomacy , i am fairly confident he will find a prudent workable path to a lessening of us involvement in iraq , while still maintaining a strong global anti- terrorist stance and presence as well.
this guy is good...
Posted by: bah | Nov 12, 2008 1:14:29 PM
Before you all start casting stones and judging them, when was the last time a foreign government occupied your country? When was the last time your country was invaded? miumiu48 I'm sure does not know what an Iraqi is going through, most Americans don't. So before you open your mouth that you stuff with Big Macs and chicken nuggets as you sit on your fat arse on your couch, remember, you have not walked in their shoes, odds are, you haven't taken a walk in a long time.
Posted by: SlickCheney | Nov 13, 2008 1:44:22 AM
Hahahahahaha SlickCheney
Posted by: Frances | Nov 14, 2008 1:45:21 PM
Let's not criticize the Iraqis... in poor areas and projects where unemployment is high, drug trafficking grows because it brings money. It's the same thing for them...
It's not good but it gives you enough money to live through the day...
Posted by: Ben Bourrigault | Nov 16, 2008 12:26:37 PM
the war man and woman
need to come home
Posted by: daryl savarese | Dec 9, 2008 6:37:38 PM
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