Sons of Iraq role examined

BAGHDAD, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Baghdad has no plans to protect the Sunni force, Sons of Iraq, and shuns any decision to merge the bulk of the force into the Iraqi army, officials said.

The U.S. military said Thursday it would hand over responsibility of the 100,000-member Sons of Iraq to Baghdad by Oct. 1. The U.S. military had funded the group as a paramilitary force to man checkpoints and perform policing and minor security details.

Hadi al-Ameri, a defense official in the central government, said that as part of an agreement with U.S. officials, only 15 percent of the force would be incorporated into the Iraqi army, and only on an individual basis, not as a group, Gulf News reported.

He maintained the Sunni members will hold only minor positions within the national security infrastructure. Each member will have his criminal record examined and be vetted for allegiance to the Iraqi government, he added.

Meanwhile, members of the Sadrist Movement of Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr expressed cautious optimism about the move, saying the Sunni force may have a military coup on its future agenda.

"We were wary from the beginning in dealing with the members of the Sunni Awakening because we believe that its establishment was based on a U.S. agenda," said Saleh al-Obeidi, Sadr's spokesman.