Re: Zardari, Gilani, Kayani promised immunity to Musharraf
I don’t think sunnis supported the US in Iraq out of fear of shia. Actually it was the hatred of al-Qaeda and affiliates. Iraqi sunnis are pretty secular and not extremist at all. They initially supported Qaeda because they of America. But when Qaeda started imposing their extremist Talibanic ideology over common people then they revolted against them. They realized that Qaeda is a bigger threat for them than America. Hence Sunni Awakening groups.
Similar thing happened in FATA and Swat in Pakistan. People there initially supported extremists due to US. But when Talibanic extremists started showing their true colors then they realized how barbaric and un Islamic these people are. Hence the creation of lashkars.
And the same thing happened in Kashmir. There also the population first approved the “mujahideen” who were being trained and sent by pro-fasad ISI of that time. But then quickly Kashmiris realized what kind of monster they were. Thus they stopped supporting them. (This actually hurt Pakistan big time).
Extremism is its own biggest enemy.
Regarding reasons of Sunni Awakening in Iraq, here is an article confirming that sunnis turned up against Qaeda due to its extremism. They didn’t do it out of fear of shia.
http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/news/world/iraq/20070325-1237-fightingbackinanbar.html
RAMADI, Iraq – Not long ago it would have been unthinkable: a Sunni sheik allying himself publicly with American forces in a xenophobic city at the epicenter of Iraq’s Sunni insurgency…The 36-year-old sheik is leading a growing movement of Sunni tribesmen who have turned against al-Qaeda-linked insurgents in Anbar province.
Al-Rishawi, whose father and three brothers were killed by al-Qaeda assassins, said insurgents were “killing innocent people, anyone suspected of opposing them. They brought us nothing but destruction and we finally said, enough is enough.”