References for the Preface –

Battle for Ramadi
In Ramadi, Fetid Quarters and Unrelenting Battles, NYT, 5jul06

Sheikh Sattar & Awakening

We held a meeting and agreed to fight those who call themselves mujahadeen. We believe that there is a conspiracy against our Iraqi people. Those terrorists claimed that they are fighters working on liberating Iraq, but they turned out to be killers. Now all the people are fed up and have turned against them — Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha in a Sep 06 New York Times interview.

Sheikhs Help Curb Violence in Iraq’s West, U.S. Says, Wash Post, 26jan07
UPI, Analysis: U.S. backs tribes for security, UPI, 13feb07

Albu Nimr tribe and ODA 505 in Al-Phurat, 2004
Better Lucky than Good, Brent Lindeman, Naval Postgraduate School thesis, dec09

Albu Ali clan fights AQI in 2005
Iraqi Sunnis Battle To Defend Shiites, Wash Post, 14aug05

24 Infantry Battalions in the Marine Corps
Heritage Foundation; Assessment of U.S. Military Power, 2018
The Marine Corps’ basic combat unit is the infantry battalion. A battalion has about 900 Marines and includes three rifle companies, a weapons company, and a headquarters and service company. FY 2017 appropriations supported 24 infantry battalions, an increase from 2016 levels but still down from 27 in FY 2012.  Although the President’s FY 2018 budget request retains support for 24 battalions, under full sequestration, USMC end strength would be able to support only 21 infantry battalions, which, according to General Dunford, would leave the Corps “with fewer active duty battalions and squadrons than would be required for a single major contingency.”

Michael Totten, an independent writer and journalist, wrote the best and most detailed account of how the Awakening began and progressed in Ramadi, in my opinion…
Anbar Awakens: Part 1
Anbar Awakens Part 2: Hell is Over

Joel Wing, another independent writer, put this 5-part series up on his blog, ‘Musings on Iraq’. It covers events from the Iraqi angle. The series is called, ‘Understanding Anbar Before & After the Awakening’:
Part1: Thamir al-Asafi
Part2: Sheikh Abdullah Jalal Mukhif Faraji
Part3: Sheikh Ahmed Sattar Al-Rishawi Abu Risha
Part4: Sheikh Wissam Abdul Ibrahim Hardan
Part5: Sheikh Jassim Mohammed Salah al Suwadawi & Sheikh Abdul Rahman al-Janabi