The idea is to replicate the so-called Sunni Awakening in Iraq's Anbar province, where the U.S.exploited simmering resentment of al-Qaida to turn the tribes against the radical insurgents.

VOA: standard.2009.03.11

"Countless, countless moments of awakening led me ultimately to the path of Islam, and within that, to the practice of Sufism, or Tasawuf,which for me is intricately united with Islam."

VOA: standard.2010.05.21

In Bou Saifi, a village south of Baghdad, gunmen killed at least 24 people Friday in what authorities say was an attack by al-Qaida members against families of men linked to Awakening Councils, a pro-U.S.Sunni force that helped Iraq fight extremists and regain a measure of relative calm in recent years.

VOA: standard.2010.04.04