Five years have passed since the invasion of Iraq led by the Coalition guided by the United States. Since 2003 things have changed, and little remains of the country that existed in March of five yeas ago. After more than a million dead, and with four million refugees inside and outside the country, the situation seems headed toward a new equilibrium.

Councils of the Reawakening. It’s still too soon for a sigh of relief, but after years of unending violence, the nation appears less chaotic. The former commander of US troops in Iraq, General David Petraeus, is widely granted credit for improving the situation in Mesopotamia. Petraeus, so highly thought of that he was considered a Vice Presidential candidate up to the last moment, requested and obtained the surge, a reinforcement of 30,000 marines to spread around the country. The undeniable improvement of security conditions wouldn’t have been possible, however, without the al-Sahwa militias, the Sunnis of the so-called “Reawakening Movement,” or “Sons or Iraq,” as the Americans call them. They are composed of Sunnis who initially fought against the US, not because they favored Saddam, but because they feared being crushed in a future Iraq dominated by Kurds and Shiites. In the past year and a half, after getting a favorable deal and a mountain of dollars, they have fought side by side with army troops and Iraqi police, US allies, against the al-Qaeda-linked militias composed largely of foreigners who flowed into Iraq from throughout the Arab world after the collapse of Saddam’s regime.

Disarmament at the door. The plan has worked brilliantly, especially in Baghdad’s mixed neighborhoods, where the Sunni militias have carried out terrible slaughters. Working with the Iraqi police, the Sunnis have regained control of their streets. One of their neighborhoods is al-Adhamiya, for years a hotbed of uncontrolled violence and a thorn in the side of the US. Now the situation is under control, but no one knows how long that will last. The Iraqi government remains mostly in the hands of Shiites. The upper levels of the government executive have always regarded the Sunni militias with diffidence, but when the Shiite militias were out of control, the “Reawakening Movement” was useful. Now that things are growing more calm, the government has decided to reassert control and establish order among the well-armed, American-paid fighters who dominate neighborhoods like al-Adhamiya. A new law is soon to be passed to disarm the movement and integrate the Sunni militias into the regular Iraq army and police forces.

Tension Among the Sunnis. Despite the positive results provided by the movement, the US does not oppose their disarmament. For many citizens, the movement fighters are heroes, but at times they behave like a gang that rules the streets. Now that violence is down, the US won’t oppose a move to put the militias under government control. This change, however, doesn’t please the armed Sunnis themselves, who want to maintain their forces in the event of an American withdrawal, to stand against possible Shiite incursions. At the same time, of course, war is also big business. For local Sunni leaders, disarmament might mean a huge loss of income from the Americans, which would go instead to the central government.

In al-Adhamiya in recent days, gunfights have broken out of a sort not seen for some time: two people were killed at a checkpoint on Sunday, and a civilian was killed on Monday when a car bomb exploded. There have also been rising tensions between local leaders and government officials. The situation will have to be carefully managed to keep al-Adhamiya and similar neighborhoods from descending into sectarian violence once again.