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Stopping an Awakening in Iraq Before It Can Start
(Washington Post) David Ignatius - A centerpiece of President Obama's strategy for defeating the Islamic State is mobilizing tribal fighters to join the Iraqi military in retaking Anbar province and others dominated by Sunnis. But new research shows that the jihadists have been working since 2009 to assassinate the very Sunni tribal leadership on which Obama's rollback depends - making the U.S. campaign much more difficult. Research documenting the Islamic State's onslaught was compiled by Craig Whiteside, a former Army officer who fought in Iraq and now teaches at the Naval War College. By his count, at least 1,345 Awakening members have been killed in Iraq since 2009 by the Islamic State or its predecessor organizations.