concerned citizens
Posted at 2:58pm on Jan. 2, 2008 ...and they appear to be in the process of taking the torch and running with it
Or, "Being there at the beginning of a bona-fide phenomenon? Priceless."
By Jeff Emanuel
The ellipses at the beginning of this post's title are intended as a continuation of the subtitle of this excellent post from earlier today. Well done as always, Charles.
[Note: Photographs from the meeting mentioned below are available here.]
During the year that General Petraeus and his counterinsurgency force have been on the ground in Iraq, the Concerned Local Citizens program, until recently a tiny, localized “neighborhood watch” equivalent, has grown into a nationwide phenomenon.
Called “basically a thumb in the eye at a Maliki government that won’t get its [act] together” by one American officer whose unit I spent time with in August, the Concerned Local Citizens program puts ground-level security in the hands of the individual tribes and groups who need it most. Under the program’s coalition-crafted guidelines, members of individual tribes are allowed to arm themselves and to conduct their own security operations and patrols, provided that, among other requirements, they submit to the authority of Coalition and Iraqi Security forces.
Read on.
Posted in concerned citizens | foreign policy | General Petraeus | Iraq | War — Comments (9)/ Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 9:30pm on Dec. 13, 2007 The "Concerned Citizen" Phenomenon Takes Hold
Or: "The Iraqis are taking their country back"
By Jeff Emanuel
The Concerned Local Citizens phenomenon in Iraq has continued to grow throughout the year that General Petraeus and his counterinsurgency force have been on the ground in Iraq. At the Long War Journal, the indispensable Bill Roggio has posted a map showing the location and development of these citizens' groups which have mobilized themselves to fight against militias and terrorists for the purpose of protecting their tribe, their city, and their country.
When in the small village of Ja'ara, Iraq (between Baghdad and Salman Pak) this summer, I had the privilege of sitting in on the first meeting between an American officer and a Sunni tribal leader (Auth. note: The empty red chair in the foreground is mine). The prospect of establishing a prototype Concerned Citizens group -- the first ever in the region -- was discussed at that meeting.
That was at the end of August. As you'll see from the information provided at the Long War Journal, what began as the smallest of meetings has now become a literal phenomenon, with over 35,000 concerned local citizens participating just in that small region -- with almost 50% of the groups being combined Sunni and Shi'a.
If there's a term for this besides "unimaginable success," then I don't know what it is.
Posted in concerned citizens | embedded reporting | Iraq | Not In Your Name | War — Comments (19)/ Email this page » / Read More »
