# Anbar Awakening The **Anbar Awakening** was the revolt of Sunni tribes in Iraq's Anbar province against [[Al-Qaeda]] in Iraq, which took shape in Ramadi in August–September 2006 under Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha. U.S. forces then paid and armed the tribal fighters, and the model spread to other Sunni areas. Because it began months before the 2007 [[Iraq Surge]], it is central to the argument over how much of the drop in violence the surge itself caused. ## See Also - [[Iraq Surge]] · [[Iraq War]] · [[Iraq]] · [[David Petraeus]] · [[Islamic State]]