In Iraq, former militia program eyed for new fight

BAGHDAD (AP) - They were known as the Sahwa, or the Awakening Councils - Sunni militiamen who took extraordinary risks to side with U.S. troops in the fight against al-Qaida during the Iraq War. Once heralded as a pivotal step in the defeat of the bloody insurgency, the Sahwa later were pushed aside by Iraq's Shiite-led government, starved of political support and money needed to remain a viable security force. Now, the Obama administration is looking at the Sahwa, which still exist in smaller form, as a model for how to unite Sunni fighters against the rampant Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant that has swept across most of the nation's north. Also known as the Sons of Iraq - "sahwa" is Arabic for "awakening" - U.S. officials say they hope Sunnis will be similarly stirred to fight back against the new insurgency.