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Baghdad Life
Journal correspondents report on evolving conditions in Iraq

Concern about ‘Concerned Citizens’

By Gina Chon

At a media briefing today, Major General Rick Lynch of the 3rd Infantry Division lauded the achievements of the so-called Concerned Local Citizens (CLC), who act as Iraq’s version of a neighborhood watch group.

The CLCs in the five areas that make up Multi-National Division Center have provided intelligence that’s led to the capture of five high-value individuals and 427 insurgents. Since June, they have turned in or located 385 weapons caches and 286 improvised explosive devices. They also guard 1,600 checkpoints.

But Gen. Lynch also noted that as security improves, there will come a time when the CLCs won’t be needed anymore, so the question is what to do with them and their $300 a month salary, which is paid for by the U.S. military.

The military’s solution is to create a civilian service or public works force in which the CLCs will be trained and given jobs so they can be productive members of society. But there are questions of how that transition will occur, especially since the Iraqi government is supposed to take over the CLCs later this year and begin paying their salaries.

Born out of the Sunni “Awakening” in Anbar province, where former insurgents decided to begin cooperating with coalition forces, the CLCs have become an important part of the security improvements in Iraq. Many are former extremists and insurgents.

There are more than 130 CLC groups and over 80,000 members in Iraq. The U.S. military says only 25% to 30% want to join the Iraqi Army or police. But Sunni officials disagree and say most of the CLCs want to join the Iraqi security forces but are prevented from doing so by the Ministries of Defense and Interior, which are led by Shia ministers. Eighty percent of the CLCs are Sunnis and 20 percent are Shia.

The Iraqi government was initially reluctant to allow the CLCs into the Iraqi security forces, but that is slowly changing as Iraqi officials realize that 80,000 citizens suddenly without salaries is a ticking time bomb. Currently, 9,000 CLCs have been processed to join the Iraqi army or police.

U.S. military officials often say that many of those who turned to al Qaeda did so to earn money because no other opportunities were available. And that is in their minds and the minds of Iraqi officials when it comes to the fate of the CLCs. But there is still a question of whether sectarian suspicions can be overcome to find a resolution that is favorable to both sides.

Gen. Lynch says he’s optimistic about the security situation and the future of the CLCs, but he also says the situation is tenuous. “This place could go backwards,” he says. “That’s why we have to continue to make improvements in the government and the economy. It’s not over yet.”

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