Al Anbar Awakening Iraqi Perspectives

The Iraq War in Anbar Province, also known as the Al Anbar campaign, consisted of fighting between the United States military, together with Iraqi Government forces, and Sunni insurgents in the western Iraqi province of Al Anbar. The Iraq War lasted from 2003 to 2011, but the majority of the fighting and counterinsurgency campaign in Anbar took place between April 2004 and September 2007. Although the fighting initially featured heavy urban warfare primarily between insurgents and U.S. Marines, insurgents in later years focused on ambushing the American and Iraqi security forces with improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Almost 9,000 Iraqis and 1,335 Americans were killed in the campaign, many in the Sunni Triangle around the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi.

"This two-volume anthology of interviews tells the story of the al-Anbar Awakening and the emergence of al-Anbar Province from the throes of insurgency. It presents the perspectives of both Iraqis (volume two) and Americans (volume one) who ultimately came to work together, in an unlikely alliance of former adversaries, for the stabilization and redevelopment of the province. The collection begins in the 2003-2004 time frame with the rise of the insurgency and concludes with observations from the vintage point of early-to-mid 2009. The anthology demonstrates that there is not one history of the Awakening, but several histories intertwined. It is not a complete collection, but one that provides a broad spectrum of candid, unvarnished perspectives from some of the leading players."--Preface.

This two-volume anthology of interviews tells the story of the al-Anbar Awakening and the emergence of al-Anbar Province from the throes of insurgency. It presents the perspectives of both Iraqis (volume two) and Americans (volume one) who ultimately came to work together, in an unlikely alliance of former adversaries, for the stabilization and redevelopment of the province. The collection begins in the 2003-2004 time frame with the rise of the insurgency and concludes with observations from the vantage point of early-to-mid 2009. The anthology demonstrates that there is not one history of the Awakening, but several histories intertwined. It is not a complete collection, but one that provides a broad spectrum of candid, unvarnished perspectives from some of the leading players. This Iraqi volume collects from many of the key Awakening players their views on how and why Anbaris came to turn against the insurgency that many had initially supported and seek the aid-both military and economic-of the Americans. Those interviewed include former Ba'ath Party military officers, senior officers in Iraq's new military, tribal sheikhs, Sunni imams, governmental representatives, and civilians. This anthology is drawn from oral history interviews collected by field historians of the U.S. Marine Corps History Division, based at Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia. Field historians assigned to the History Division have collected hundreds of interviews since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom I to serve as primary resources for future scholarship. In support of this anthology project A View of Daily Life * Interview 1 * Miriam (pseudonym) * Religious Perspectives * Interview 2 * Dr. Thamer Ibrahim Tahir al-Assafi and Sheikh Abdullah Jallal Mukhif al-Faraji * Tribal Perspectives * Interview 3 * Sheikh Ahmad Bezia Fteikhan al-Rishawi * Interview 4 * Sheikh Wissam Abd al-Ibrahim al-Hardan al-Aeithawi * Interview 5 * Sheikh Jassim Muhammad Saleh al-Suwadawi and Sheikh Abdul Rahman Janabi * Interview 6 * Sheikh Aifan Sadun al-Issawi * Interview 7 * Sheikh Ali Hatim Abd al-Razzaq Ali al-Sulayman * Interview 8 * Sheikh Majed Abd al-Razzaq Ali al-Sulayman * Interview 9 * Sheikh Sabah al-Sattam Effan Fahran al-Shurji al-Aziz * Political Perspectives * Interview 10 * Governor Mamoun Sami Rashid al-Alwani * Interview 11 * Mr. Kamis Ahmad Abban al-Alwani * Perspectives of the New Security Forces * Interview 12 * Major General Tariq Yusif Mohammad al-Thiyabi * Interview 13 * Staff Brigadier General Nuri al-Din Abd al-Karim Mukhlif al-Fahadawi and Colonel Said Muhammed Muad al-Fahadawi * Interview 14 * Staff Major General Abdullah Mohammad Badir al-Jaburi * Interview 15 * Staff Brigadier General Haqi Isma'eel Ali Hameed * Interview 16 * Staff Colonel Abbas Ayed Radad * Perspectives of Former Regime Elements * Interview 17 * Staff Major General Jasim Muhammad Salih Habib * Interview 18 * Staff Major General Khadim Muhammad Faris al-Fahadawi al-Dulaymi * Interview 19 * Lieutenant General Raad al-Hamdani, Lieutenant General Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman, Major General Ghazi Khudrilyas, Brigadier General Muhammed al-Azzawi, and Ambassador Sa'doon J. al-Zubaydi

This is the second of two volumes. Volume 1 is the American perspective. This volume is the Iraqi perspective. Each volume can stand alone. The interviews collected in the two volumes of this anthology do what no previous work has done-they attempt to tell the story of the al-Anbar Awakening from both sides, American and Iraqi.Not all the voices could be included, but there are many pertinent ones. The story they tell is a complex but important one, and it should be read with interest by all who want to truly understand what happened in Iraq between 2004 and 2009.

"This two-volume anthology of interviews tells the story of the al-Anbar Awakening and the emergence of al-Anbar Province from the throes of insurgency. It presents the perspectives of both Iraqis (volume two) and Americans (volume one) who ultimately came to work together, in an unlikely alliance of former adversaries, for the stabilization and redevelopment of the province. The collection begins in the 2003-2004 time frame with the rise of the insurgency and concludes with observations from the vintage point of early-to-mid 2009. The anthology demonstrates that there is not one history of the Awakening, but several histories intertwined. It is not a complete collection, but one that provides a broad spectrum of candid, unvarnished perspectives from some of the leading players."--Preface.

Words like "won" or "victory" really do not apply when speaking of counterinsurgency operations. Insurgencies grow from problems and discontent within a given society.