Bush Sets Iraq Time Bomb

Well, for those of you who don't know, one of the reasons the surge appears to have worked is because we have been paying the Sunni Awakening millions of dollars to not kill people. They used to fight the Shiites and our soldiers, then we started giving them bags and bags of money to stop. So they did.

But the election is almost upon us, so their little payday is over.

The Iraqi government is to take responsibility for paying members of the country's Awakening councils, Sunni groups who had allied with US forces to fight al-Qaeda.

The government of Nuri al-Maliki, which is dominated by Shia religious parties, is to begin paying 54,000 Awakening members from Tuesday.

The Awakening groups emerged in 2005 when Sunni tribesmen, who had previously fought the US military and Iraqi government forces, allied with US forces, accepting arms, money and training.

They get about $15 million a month. Surprisingly, there are concerns about "integration" with their former enemies.

The report warned there was a possibility that attacks could rise in the run-up to provincial elections if Sunnis perceive al-Maliki's government is hindering them.

Absorbing the Awakening groups into the Iraqi security forces and into civilian jobs has become "a significant challenge" and "the slow pace of transition is a concern", the Pentagon report said.

Super. The day when we stop paying the Sunnis not to kill? October 31st. How weird is it that the election is just 4 days later? The Bush Administration paid out enemies not to fight in order to get McCain elected. How impressive is that?