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BAGHDAD, Iraq (February 13, 2008) - Abas Rashed lives in Arab
Jabour, 20 miles southeast of the Iraqi capital, and is a member of
the local "Sons of Iraq" security group made up of local residents.
He patrols the streets of his community and watches for insurgent
activities, he said, because he knows the damage insurgents can do
firsthand.
Before the insurgents entered this farming community with a
Sunni Muslim majority, he said, the people in Arab Jabour worked
together. Despite their differences, Sunni and Shiite shared a
common desire to see their children grow up in a better environment
and in peace. He said he believes that the insurgency, in an
attempt to stir up violence against coalition forces, exploited
differences between the two sects.
Yassen Kodaier Hussein, a Sunni living in Arab Jabour, said he
once had Shiia neighbors until the insurgency moved in. Hussein
also said he believes insurgents tried to set the people apart.
"At first we rebuffed any difference," he said. "So they tried
to make difference apparent." The differences were spelled out in
both Shiite and Sunni blood, he said.
"They killed both sides to make a problem," Hussein said of the
sectarian violence that drove many families from their homes. "We
didn't see this problem until they came. They interfered with our
lives."
The Sons of Iraq helped change the security situation, said Army
Capt. Joseph Inge, commander of Company D, 1st Battalion, 30th
Infantry Regiment. "It has been a total '180,'" he said.
For the first time in months, Arab Jabour is beginning to look
and feel as it did before insurgents arrived. Hussein said he is
encouraged by the number of families returning home.
"I want to imagine a unified Iraq, one Iraq free from outside
interference," he said. "We have to stop the militias -- work
together to finish off the militias."
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