Muslim Scholars in Iraq slam Awakening

BAGHDAD, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. military in Iraq has exploited the Sons of Iraq force as a tool to kill civilians and destroy the country, the Association of Muslim Scholars said.

In an open letter to the Awakening Councils, the Sunni tribal group that gave rise to the paramilitary force Sons of Iraq, the Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq accused U.S. officials of exploiting the force to eliminate a legitimate expression of opposition to the occupation of Iraq.

The Sons of Iraq, the letter said, were portrayed by the U.S. military as a liberation force but were used instead to kill Iraqis, destroy their homes and infrastructure, steal their money and colonize the country.

U.S. military strategists make no distinction between forces of resistance and terrorists because doing so would lend legitimacy to the right of the people to oppose the presence of occupying forces as guaranteed under the charters of the United Nations, the letter said.

The AMSI accuses the Sons of Iraq of taking part in U.S. plans to divide Iraq along sectarian and ethnic lines, as the Sunni force served as a counterpart to the Kurdish Peshmerga and Shiite militias.

U.S. officials, shortly after acknowledging the effectiveness of the Sons of Iraq against al-Qaida, announced they longer needed the force, discarding their efforts like pieces of refuse, the letter said.

"Oh, you sons of the Awakening. Is your awakening too late?" the letter concluded.