Talk:Sons of Iraq

Errors, Additions and Research
There is no "Discussion" tab for this article, so I'm listing my points here:

Errors: Specifically in names. I think wiki should move towards the proper spelling of the names. For example, there is no such name in Arabic as "Abdul". The proper spelling of the founder's name is "abd-al-Sattar al-Rishawi". It's a compound name used in Arabic and codified in English under the Transliteration Guide. Additionally, his son's name is not "abu Risha". "Abu" means "son of". The Anbar tribes go by two different variations of the family names. Their tribe could be referenced as "al-Rishawi" or "albu-Risha". Either or, but they should match.

Additions: There are several additions that should be made, especially with how the Awakening started, how it got going, and the extent of the spread. For example, it was started in the Jazeera area of Ramadi, but al-Qaim (on the border) was the first city completely cleared of terrorists. The clearing then basically moved eastward until all of al-Anbar was cleared out. I would also note that some entire Awakening groups, like the one in abu Ghraib, quit the Awakening one day and donned Police uniforms the next (per a recent conversation with the Iraqi Army Brigade Commander in that area).

Wiki's original research policy: This seems impossible given the rare, false, and biased reporting coming out of Iraq. That's not even mentioning the fact that there has been no real or extensive published research on topics such as this. I currently work in the intel community and have extensive knowledge of al-Anbar, the geography, the people, and was in Iraq when the Awakening started (still am, at the time of this writing). I'm looking for thoughts regarding original research from others (like myself) that have been in Iraq and interviewed/worked with Iraqis.

Jediryan22 (talk) 22:13, 7 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Sounds like you should apply your expertise and go right ahead and make corrections :-) Earthlyreason (talk) 08:41, 1 October 2008 (UTC)


 * Anyone could claim to be an intelligence official, so it might be better to try to talk to a journalist or put your information in to a public domain government source first. Another option would be to find the information in a reliable third-party publication. Changing names is fine, but third-hand information from a private conversation with the Iraqi Army Brigade Commander isn't. Let him make the claim to someone who can document it, then it can be put here.--76.214.115.168 (talk) 22:46, 1 October 2008 (UTC)


 * There is no "proper way to spell 'Abdul,'" using the Latin alphabet as it is an Arabic word. The two use different alphabets. Any Arabic word written in our alphabet must be transliterated --189.38.71.61 (talk) 19:05, 18 June 2013 (UTC)

Work in Iraq
This section seems to be biased towards a pro-American viewpoint. The source cited doesn't completely back up the information stated either, so I've tagged it POV until something can be done about it. Berens 23:13, 23 June 2008 (UTC)
 * I've added more sources and tried to stay close to what the sources say.--68.248.154.156 (talk) 15:35, 3 July 2008 (UTC)

Mohajeddin El Khalk
I think the chart at the bottom ought to also include MEK, which I think is a Persian group working to overthrow the Government of Iraq, based in and operating out of the Khanniqin District of the Diyala Governate 75.70.64.67 (talk) 17:23, 5 April 2008 (UTC)
 * The MEK are Iranian expatriates allegedly working for the overthrow of the current Iranian regime. (Reply by User:214.13.141.100 moved to next line and indented for clarity) Lawrencema (talk) 10:05, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

Image not of an awakening movement
The photo currently used is of a Marine training Iraqi security forces from 2004, a number of years before the awakening was formed. I'll try to find a more recent picture that better illustrates the group. Lawrencema (talk) 00:50, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

Does Anyone Care?
Does anyone care that a SSG, a CPT, and a LTC are still interacting with the awakening movement? There are hundreds of US service members who deal with the awakening movement. This seems like self-gratification. Furthermore, deployments have a beginning and an end...those SM are probably not even in country anymore. I'm going to remove that section from the article. --Robbini (talk) 02:21, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Suggested move

 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the move request was page moved. Anthony Appleyard (talk) 19:43, 29 November 2009 (UTC)


 * Awakening movements → Sons of Iraq — Sons of Iraq is the much more commonly used name in news media, as even a cursory glance through Google or, even better, Google News reveals. Awakening movement is just awkward and not used as often as any of the many other names; at the very least it should be Sunni Awakening. Basically, per WP:COMMONNAME, we should be using the most common English-name. Bsimmons 666  (talk) 17:55, 21 November 2009 (UTC)
 * There have been many movements which told this or that nation or other group of men to "wake up!". The title should specify the area that they operate in, and why they operate. Anthony Appleyard (talk) 09:40, 29 November 2009 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

INCORRECT REDIRECT AND TITLE
The Sons if Iraq, the "Anbar Awakening" and Sahawa al Anbar/Sahawa al Iraq are not one and the same. the Anbar Awakening was a "movement" and the Sons of Iraq and SAA/SAI were two very distinct militias, one of which later formed a major provincial political party (SAA/SAI), and the other was eventually retired, with its members laid off or absorbed into the military and police. This article is dangerously inaccurate and shold NOT be considered a reference source --Stiche (talk) 22:34, 24 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Correct. "Sons of Iraq" were the militia that the "Anbar Awakening" used. It's like saying that the Peshmerga is the same thing as the PDK.

--189.38.71.61 (talk) 18:59, 18 June 2013 (UTC)

Photo inappropriate
Is there anything that shows that the person shown in the photo is a "boy"? Such a term is either disparaging, or used to describe a minor.

The first seems inappropriate for an encyclopedia.

The second seems inappropriate as it is a baseless accusation of a war crime, which should be removed unless it can be proven to be true. --189.38.71.61 (talk) 19:00, 18 June 2013 (UTC)

Translation of the Arabic word انقاذ
Tِhe article consistently translates انقاذ inqādh as 'awakening'. I really have to question that. Inqādh means 'salvation', not 'awakening'. The Arabic word for awakening would be اِيقاظ īqāẓ. It's easy to see how the two words might have been confused. It makes me wonder: when did the mistranslation of inqādh as 'awakening' become current? Also—how long would it take before the correct translation could catch on? Or there there some other explanation for this I'm missing? Johanna-Hypatia (talk) 01:37, 18 June 2014 (UTC)


 * I did some looking into this subject and found that they are using a word for awakening, but it was omitted from the lead of this article. So I put it in. The word is صحوة ṣaḥwah (or ṣaḥwat in the construct state), and this is what "awakening" referred to. I also supplied the correct translation for the word inqādh. Johanna-Hypatia (talk) 07:40, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

Sons of Iraq now less relevant / Plea for a renaming of article
Sons of Iraq adopted for mainly electoral purposes is no longer very valid. The collection of movements known as "sahwa" or Awakening and we should go back to main listing as Sahwa (Arabic preferred term) or Sunni Awakening or the more global all inclusive Awakening movements if you prefer an English translations is more appropriate. Clearly the turn of events has put the name "Sons of Iraq" into great disfavour. werldwayd (talk) 14:38, 5 July 2014 (UTC)

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Similarity?
What's the difference between this movement and the Anbar Salvation Council? This article states one of its names is "Anbar Salvation". Bataaf van Oranje (Prinsgezinde) (talk) 22:47, 12 July 2016 (UTC)

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