Iraq seeks breakup of Sunni fighters

The men feel increasingly vulnerable -- they have been attacked by Al Qaeda and Shiite militias and subjected to Iraqi army raids. Since January, 462 of them have been killed in attacks by militants. If disbanded, their leaders warn, the men could revolt, but the Sons of Iraq are holding out hope that local elections, still without a date, will improve their lot.

"In the event that the U.S. military and government don't live up to their promises, it could turn back to a violent form of resistance," said a leader, Abu Abed, from the north Baghdad neighborhood of Adhamiya. "Every action breeds a reaction."

In Abu Ghraib, there are no Sons of Iraq on the street in the Nasr Salam district, only Iraqi army checkpoints. Soldiers with sunglasses and Kalashnikov rifles stand by concrete barriers with graffiti identifying them as the Muthanna Brigade, a force feared by the local Sunni population. Asked about the Sons of Iraq, locals and an Iraqi army officer say the movement doesn't exist there anymore.

Until May, Abu Azzam, a former stockbroker and onetime Islamic Army insurgent leader, headed the 700-man Sons of Iraq branch in the district. He fled the area in May when the Americans informed him that the Muthanna Brigade was taking security responsibility there.

He says the brigade raided his members' houses and detained up to 10 leaders. His foot soldiers fled. Some haven't seen their families in more than a month. He is stunned about what happened. But the former insurgent has plotted his next move, establishing a political party called Dignity, which he hopes will turn the tables on his opponents in the still-to-be-scheduled elections.

"We have to get rid of the Iranian influence in Iraq and rebuild the democratic state," he said, baring his suspicions about the current government, dominated by religious parties.

Abu Azzam suspects that some of his fighters have already gone back to war, but he doesn't believe the violence will return to its previous levels. Still, the fact that his old allies are on the lam has him worried. "Anyone who feels disappointed will go back," he said. "Definitely, he will go to the resistance. He will go back to violence."

While some have fled their posts, other leaders of the Sons of Iraq are behind bars. Mullah Shihab Safi, the commander of the Sons of Iraq in Baqubah, turned himself in to the government Aug. 15. He had gone into hiding when the Iraqi army launched an offensive in Baqubah in late July and sent soldiers to arrest not only Al Qaeda members but also Sons of Iraq leaders.