Free Republic

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27, 2009 – Several years ago, tens of thousands of Sunni fighters considered themselves enemies of the Iraqi government and its U.S. conspirators, but after switching allegiances, these former insurgents now are filling the ranks of Iraq’s ministries and armed forces. Thousands of these “Sons of Iraq” -- the moniker given to those Sunni combatants who defected from insurgent groups to fight alongside U.S. and Iraqi security forces -- recently gained employment as government workers in Baghdad. Another 13,000 have jobs as Iraqi policemen or soldiers. Though once part of the al-Qaida-aligned resistance in Iraq, these fighters left...