Iraq abandons the Sunni al Qaeda fighters

Washington Post:
Muhannad Mahmoud can’t find a place in the new Iraq. 
The American military, which hired him and more than 80,000 other Sunni fighters to take on al-Qaeda-affiliated insurgents, just left. But the insurgents certainly have not. 
The Iraqi government, increasingly dominated by Shiite powers, is leery about hiring the fighters as security forces. And even if Mahmoud were able to land such a job, some of his fellow Sunnis are so distrustful of the new government that they would label him a traitor. 
As a member of the Sons of Iraq, who were widely credited with helping the United States restore stability to the country several years ago, Mahmoud and his brethren say they have been pushed to the side — even as insurgents come after them daily. 
“I am ready to fight them again,” Mahmoud said recently, taking a break from his job repairing power lines that run from a neighborhood generator to homes and businesses. 
For years, the Iraqi government has struggled to carry out a U.S.-brokered plan to find military or police jobs for the Sunni fighters — some of them genuine heroes, some of them former insurgents themselves. How the government treats them over the coming months could present a chance for reconciliation — or threaten to widen the country’s sectarian divide, especially if Sons of Iraq members strike out on their own, or, worse, defect to groups such as al-Qaeda in Iraq. 
These days, even with the increased violence, the Sons of Iraq stand out, targeted by daily assassination attempts. Throughout Iraq, they are known more broadly by the term “Sahwa.” In the past week, four Iraqis connected to Sahwa were assassinated on a single day.
... 
These are the people who helped the US break the back of al Qaeda in Iraq and destroy the al Qaeda brand world wide.  It is a shame that the current government will not recognize their sacrifice and give them a place in the country.   They should not let sectarian differences alienate these people.  If they do they may die regretting it.

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