Wednesday, September 12, 2007
For a price, Sunni tribes turn on AQI, side with U.S. military
Security, Tribal
(CNN) -- Until recently, Yusufiyah was among the most dangerous places in Iraq. Located in the so-called "triangle of death," a violent area south of Baghdad, it was the site of frequent clashes between coalition forces and Sunni fighters. In May, two U.S. soldiers went missing in Yusufiyah and were never found, despite a massive search.
But today, Sunni tribal leaders in this town cooperate with U.S. forces in their battle against foreign fighters and al Qaeda in Iraq. "It's all the roll of the dice. It's people and politics all intertwined down here," said Col. Michael Kershaw, commander of the Second Brigade, 10th Mountain Division. Kershaw now greets his former enemies with kisses, hears their grievances, spends time in their homes and even shares meals with them. He is surprised at how far relations have progressed.
"Our hope a year ago was to establish very basic inroads down here," Kershaw said. "We thought the insurgency was far too deep for us to be able to effectively root it out and develop the relationship with the locals."
But today, Sunni tribal leaders in this town cooperate with U.S. forces in their battle against foreign fighters and al Qaeda in Iraq. "It's all the roll of the dice. It's people and politics all intertwined down here," said Col. Michael Kershaw, commander of the Second Brigade, 10th Mountain Division. Kershaw now greets his former enemies with kisses, hears their grievances, spends time in their homes and even shares meals with them. He is surprised at how far relations have progressed.
"Our hope a year ago was to establish very basic inroads down here," Kershaw said. "We thought the insurgency was far too deep for us to be able to effectively root it out and develop the relationship with the locals."
As happened in Anbar province to the west, local Sunni leaders from this town south of Baghdad finally turned on the al Qaeda extremists in their midst when the death and destruction became too much to bear. "Killing people, stealing goats, everything, you name it," said Sheik Hamid Karbouli, when asked why he and his men now oppose al Qaeda. Karbouli has recruited some 150 volunteers to man checkpoints and carry guns.
The U.S. military calls the men concerned local citizens. "I haven't had more than one IED destroy a vehicle in an area where concerned citizens were located ... in the past two months," Kershaw said. To further encourage local tribesmen to turn against al Qaeda, the U.S. military pays local sheiks to provide security in their area; they receive up to $10 per man. It's a controversial policy, but one that has helped the U.S. military identify and stop insurgents, Kershaw said.
"In the three months since this has started, we have gathered more insurgents up, more terrorists, than we did in the preceding nine months. And that's because they have pointed out to us these people within their own ranks," Kershaw said. The next step is to have these young Sunnis join the Iraqi police. For that to happen, the U.S. military needs the cooperation of the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad. Cooperation, however, is slow in coming.
Iraq's central government is concerned these gunmen might turn into armed militias if the U.S. pulls out and civil war erupts. To assuage these concerns, Kershaw is registering as many of the local volunteers as possible, taking photographs and retinal scans, hoping leaders in Baghdad will agree to hire them as Iraqi police.
"What we see as being the end state down here is these tribes being brought back full into the government process," Kershaw said. The Second Brigade has lost 53 men in Iraq. Their photos are proudly displayed in the brigade's headquarters. Some of the U.S. soldiers here have a hard time forgiving the Sunnis for what they might have done in the insurgency.
"Were some of these people part of the insurgency? Sure they were," Kershaw said. "Our job over here isn't to do what's comfortable for us, and it isn't to do what we want," he said. "Our job is to do the nation's bidding. If this gets our nation closer to a solution for this country ... then that's what we're gonna do."
The U.S. military calls the men concerned local citizens. "I haven't had more than one IED destroy a vehicle in an area where concerned citizens were located ... in the past two months," Kershaw said. To further encourage local tribesmen to turn against al Qaeda, the U.S. military pays local sheiks to provide security in their area; they receive up to $10 per man. It's a controversial policy, but one that has helped the U.S. military identify and stop insurgents, Kershaw said.
"In the three months since this has started, we have gathered more insurgents up, more terrorists, than we did in the preceding nine months. And that's because they have pointed out to us these people within their own ranks," Kershaw said. The next step is to have these young Sunnis join the Iraqi police. For that to happen, the U.S. military needs the cooperation of the Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad. Cooperation, however, is slow in coming.
Iraq's central government is concerned these gunmen might turn into armed militias if the U.S. pulls out and civil war erupts. To assuage these concerns, Kershaw is registering as many of the local volunteers as possible, taking photographs and retinal scans, hoping leaders in Baghdad will agree to hire them as Iraqi police.
"What we see as being the end state down here is these tribes being brought back full into the government process," Kershaw said. The Second Brigade has lost 53 men in Iraq. Their photos are proudly displayed in the brigade's headquarters. Some of the U.S. soldiers here have a hard time forgiving the Sunnis for what they might have done in the insurgency.
"Were some of these people part of the insurgency? Sure they were," Kershaw said. "Our job over here isn't to do what's comfortable for us, and it isn't to do what we want," he said. "Our job is to do the nation's bidding. If this gets our nation closer to a solution for this country ... then that's what we're gonna do."
Labels: Al Qaeda, Col. Michael Kershaw, Sunni tribal leaders, Yusufiyah
Monday, August 13, 2007
Maliki threatens to replace boycotting parties with tribal leaders
Politics
(Agencies) - Sunni politicians maintained a hard line on Monday after Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki invited key Sunni and Kurdish allies to a crisis conference in a desperate bid to reach a compromise among Iraq's divided factions. It was a limited invite, including President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, Vice President Tariq Al Hashemi, a moderate Sunni, Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a Shiite, and Massoud Barzani, the leader of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.
Abdul-Mahdi's office said he and Barzani would attend. Al Hashemi's office said it planned to give its answer later on Monday. But Iraq's minority Sunnis expressed growing anger over their perceptions of Al Maliki as a deeply biased sectarian leader with links to Iran and his failure to bring all sides together after taking office in May 2006 and promising a national unity government.
"It is one year and 4 months now that he has been in office and he is still leading a one-man rule and a sectarian policy," said Hamid Al Mutlaq, a senior member of the the National Dialogue Front, a Sunni Arab political party. "The country is on the verge of collapse."
"Is he going to give a cure after all this destruction? He has proved that he is a sectarian leader and a failure, the country is under the control of criminal gangs with thecomplete absence of an authority or government." His sharp words came a day after Iraq's most senior Sunni politician, Adnan Al Dulaimi, issued a desperate appeal for Arab nations to help stop what he called an "unprecedentedgenocide campaign" by Shiite militias armed, trained and controlled by Iran.
Al Maliki called for the meeting during a news conference on Sunday and said he hoped it could take place in the next two days as he faces growing impatience with his government's perceived Shiite bias and failure to achieve reconciliation or to stop the sectarian violence threatening to tear the country apart.
The prime minister also threatened to isolate the political blocs who have boycotted his Cabinet, suggesting they could be replaced by local Sunni tribal leaders who have recently formed alliances and joined US-led efforts against Al Qaida in Iraq. "We hope to end this crisis and that the ministers will return," Al Maliki said. "But if that doesn't happen, we will go to our brothers who are offering their help and we will choose ministers from among them."
Abdul-Mahdi's office said he and Barzani would attend. Al Hashemi's office said it planned to give its answer later on Monday. But Iraq's minority Sunnis expressed growing anger over their perceptions of Al Maliki as a deeply biased sectarian leader with links to Iran and his failure to bring all sides together after taking office in May 2006 and promising a national unity government.
"It is one year and 4 months now that he has been in office and he is still leading a one-man rule and a sectarian policy," said Hamid Al Mutlaq, a senior member of the the National Dialogue Front, a Sunni Arab political party. "The country is on the verge of collapse."
"Is he going to give a cure after all this destruction? He has proved that he is a sectarian leader and a failure, the country is under the control of criminal gangs with thecomplete absence of an authority or government." His sharp words came a day after Iraq's most senior Sunni politician, Adnan Al Dulaimi, issued a desperate appeal for Arab nations to help stop what he called an "unprecedentedgenocide campaign" by Shiite militias armed, trained and controlled by Iran.
Al Maliki called for the meeting during a news conference on Sunday and said he hoped it could take place in the next two days as he faces growing impatience with his government's perceived Shiite bias and failure to achieve reconciliation or to stop the sectarian violence threatening to tear the country apart.
The prime minister also threatened to isolate the political blocs who have boycotted his Cabinet, suggesting they could be replaced by local Sunni tribal leaders who have recently formed alliances and joined US-led efforts against Al Qaida in Iraq. "We hope to end this crisis and that the ministers will return," Al Maliki said. "But if that doesn't happen, we will go to our brothers who are offering their help and we will choose ministers from among them."
Labels: Hamid Al Mutlaq, National Dialogue Front, Nouri Al-Maliki, Sunni tribal leaders
Monday, July 23, 2007
Five Sunni tribal leaders killed in attack
Security, Tribal
(Al Jazeera) - Five Sunni tribal leaders opposed to al-Qaeda have been killed after a suicide bomber drove a minivan packed with explosives into a house north of Baghdad. The men were meeting in Jurf al-Milih, near Taji, about 20km north of the Iraqi capital, to discuss joining US and Iraqi forces in fighting al-Qaeda.
A police source said another 12 people were wounded in Sunday's attack and the death toll could rise. An Iraqi army source said the tribal chiefs were meeting after talks with local Shia leaders were held in Taji on Friday under the protection of US forces.
US military commanders have been trying to expand their plan, first used in the violent western province of Anbar, of recruiting local Sunnis who are tired of al-Qaeda violence into special provincial police units. Al-Qaeda is blamed for stoking sectarian hatred and violence between majority Shias and minority Sunni Arabs who were dominant under Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi leader.
The US military began a security crackdown in Baghdad five months ago which initially helped bring down the number of sectarian murders but which also pushed al-Qaeda fighters out of the capital and into surrounding areas. US and Iraqi forces later launched another big operation in the middle of June coinciding with the arrival of the last of 28,000 extra US troops in Iraq.
A police source said another 12 people were wounded in Sunday's attack and the death toll could rise. An Iraqi army source said the tribal chiefs were meeting after talks with local Shia leaders were held in Taji on Friday under the protection of US forces.
US military commanders have been trying to expand their plan, first used in the violent western province of Anbar, of recruiting local Sunnis who are tired of al-Qaeda violence into special provincial police units. Al-Qaeda is blamed for stoking sectarian hatred and violence between majority Shias and minority Sunni Arabs who were dominant under Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi leader.
The US military began a security crackdown in Baghdad five months ago which initially helped bring down the number of sectarian murders but which also pushed al-Qaeda fighters out of the capital and into surrounding areas. US and Iraqi forces later launched another big operation in the middle of June coinciding with the arrival of the last of 28,000 extra US troops in Iraq.
Labels: Jurf al-Milih, Sunni tribal leaders, Taji
Monday, June 04, 2007
Rising tensions between Sunnis insurgents and Kurds as second bridge is bombed
Security
(New York Times) - Bomb blasts severely damaged a bridge linking a highway from Baghdad with the northern city of Kirkuk on Saturday, the police and witnesses said, heightening tensions between Arabs and Kurds and forcing traffic to detour through some of the most dangerous areas of Diyala Province.
An American tank firing at insurgents near Falluja also killed three Iraqi children on Saturday, according to a military statement, and an American helicopter was damaged by gunfire north of Baghdad and forced to land.
In Baghdad, a barrage of mortar shells killed at least seven people.
The destruction of the Sarha bridge, about 100 miles north of Baghdad and one of the busiest crossings for vehicles moving between the capital and Kirkuk, appeared to be part of an effort by Sunni insurgents to isolate Kirkuk and limit interaction between residents of different areas and sects.
Salah al-Mufaraji, a prominent tribal leader who lives near the Sarha bridge, said groups aligned with Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia were responsible for the bombing. “Gunmen move through the area freely amid the absence of the government and because the security forces can’t control the area,” he said. “All the people living here have announced allegiance to Al Qaeda out of fear and because they can’t confront it.”
Abbas Hilmi, a taxi driver who travels between Baghdad and Kirkuk, said that damage to the bridge would hurt the already hobbled local economy. “It’s miserable,” he said. “We’re taxi drivers. We need the roads.” It was the second bridge leading to Kirkuk bombed this week, local leaders said, and it came on a day when a prominent Sunni tribal leader was found dead south of the city after being kidnapped Friday.
The killing and the bridge bombing reflected rising tensions in the oil-rich area between Kurds and Sunni insurgents who oppose Kurdish plans to make the area part of the north’s Kurdish-controlled region. The Iraqi Constitution calls for a referendum on the issue this year and Iraqi and American officials have predicted that violence will increase before the vote.
Residents said that frustration with the violence committed by Sunni extremists appeared to be rising in the province, but its impact is questionable. On Friday, in southern Baquba, a Sunni cleric called for joint Sunni-Shiite prayers. Only four Shiites attended, but according to several witnesses, who declined to be named, the cleric spoke harshly of Al Qaeda and called upon all of the area’s armed groups to unite against it.
Gunmen standing outside the mosque said they were preparing to fight back and had asked the American military for help. Despite the recent decision by American commanders to funnel additional troops into the area, and initial signs of local resistance, there have been few signs of improvement.
An American tank firing at insurgents near Falluja also killed three Iraqi children on Saturday, according to a military statement, and an American helicopter was damaged by gunfire north of Baghdad and forced to land.
In Baghdad, a barrage of mortar shells killed at least seven people.
The destruction of the Sarha bridge, about 100 miles north of Baghdad and one of the busiest crossings for vehicles moving between the capital and Kirkuk, appeared to be part of an effort by Sunni insurgents to isolate Kirkuk and limit interaction between residents of different areas and sects.
Salah al-Mufaraji, a prominent tribal leader who lives near the Sarha bridge, said groups aligned with Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia were responsible for the bombing. “Gunmen move through the area freely amid the absence of the government and because the security forces can’t control the area,” he said. “All the people living here have announced allegiance to Al Qaeda out of fear and because they can’t confront it.”
Abbas Hilmi, a taxi driver who travels between Baghdad and Kirkuk, said that damage to the bridge would hurt the already hobbled local economy. “It’s miserable,” he said. “We’re taxi drivers. We need the roads.” It was the second bridge leading to Kirkuk bombed this week, local leaders said, and it came on a day when a prominent Sunni tribal leader was found dead south of the city after being kidnapped Friday.
The killing and the bridge bombing reflected rising tensions in the oil-rich area between Kurds and Sunni insurgents who oppose Kurdish plans to make the area part of the north’s Kurdish-controlled region. The Iraqi Constitution calls for a referendum on the issue this year and Iraqi and American officials have predicted that violence will increase before the vote.
Residents said that frustration with the violence committed by Sunni extremists appeared to be rising in the province, but its impact is questionable. On Friday, in southern Baquba, a Sunni cleric called for joint Sunni-Shiite prayers. Only four Shiites attended, but according to several witnesses, who declined to be named, the cleric spoke harshly of Al Qaeda and called upon all of the area’s armed groups to unite against it.
Gunmen standing outside the mosque said they were preparing to fight back and had asked the American military for help. Despite the recent decision by American commanders to funnel additional troops into the area, and initial signs of local resistance, there have been few signs of improvement.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, Iraqi constitution, Kirkuk, Salah al-Mufaraji, Sarha Bridge, Sunni tribal leaders, violence
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Al-sadr in talks with Sunni tribal leaders, Sunni militants
Security, Politics, Tribal
(IPS) - Nationalist Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's bid to unite Sunnis and Shiites on the basis of a common demand for withdrawal of U.S. occupation forces, reported last weekend by the Washington Post's Sudarsan Raghavan, seems likely to get a positive response from Sunni armed resistance. An account given Pentagon officials by a military officer recently returned from Iraq suggests that Sunni tribal leaders in Anbar province, who have generally reflected the views of the Sunni armed resistance there, are open to working with Sadr.
According to Raghavan's report on May 20, talks between Sadr's representatives and Sunni leaders, including leaders of Sunni armed resistance factions, first began in April. A commander of the 1920 Revolution Brigades, Abu Aja Naemi, confirmed to Raghavan that his organisation had been in discussions with Sadr's representatives. Sadr's aides say he was encouraged to launch the new cross-sectarian initiative by the increasingly violent opposition from nationalist Sunni insurgents to the jihadists aligned with al Qaeda. One of his top aides, Ahmed Shaibani, recalled that the George W. Bush administration was arguing that a timetable was unacceptable because of the danger of al Qaeda taking advantage of a withdrawal.
Shaibani told Raghavan that sectarian peace could be advanced if both Sadr's Mahdi Army and Sunni insurgent groups could unite to weaken al Qaeda. Raghavan reports that the cross-sectarian united front strategy was facilitated by the fact that Shaibani had befriended members of Sunni nationalist insurgent groups while he was held in U.S. detention centres from 2004 through 2006. Now Shaibani, who heads a "reconciliation committee" for Sadr, is well positioned to gain the trust of those Sunni organisations. The talks with Sunni resistance leaders have been coordinated with a series of other moves by Sadr since early February.
Although many members of Sadr's Mahdi Army have been involved in sectarian killings and intimidation of Sunnis in Baghdad, Sadr has taken what appears to be a decisive step to break with those in his movement who have been linked to sectarian violence. Over the past three months, he has expelled at least 600 men from the Mahdi Army who were accused of murder and other violations of Sadr's policy, according to Raghavan.
The massive demonstration against the occupation mounted in Najaf by Sadr's organisation on Apr. 9, which Iraqi and foreign observers estimated at tens or even hundreds of thousands of people, was apparently timed to coincide with his initiative in opening talks with the Sunnis. The demonstration not only showed that Sadr could mobilise crowds comparable to the largest ever seen in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, but also made clear Sadr's commitment to transcending sectarian interests.
The demonstrators carried Iraqi flags instead of pictures of Sadr or other Shiite symbols. It also included a small contingent of members of the Sunni-based Islamic Party of Iraq. Sadr's decision in mid-April to pull his representatives out of the al-Maliki government also appears to have been aimed in part at clearing the way for an agreement with the Sunni insurgents. Leaders of those organisations have said they would not accept the U.S.-sponsored government in any peace negotiations with the United States.
The officer also reported that Sunni tribal sheiks have explicitly disavowed the notion that Sadr is a pawn of the Iranians, insisting instead that he doesn't like either Iran or the newly-renamed Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq, which was created in Iran and supported by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The sheiks have warned their U.S. military contacts against aggressive military actions against Sadr's followers in Sadr City during the troop surge, according to the account given by the special ops officer.
They said Sadr hopes such provocative United States actions will ultimately result in a new Shiite resistance war against U.S. forces, and they urge swift withdrawal to avoid that outcome. Sadr's project for a Sunni-Shiite united front against both al Qaeda and U.S. occupation offers a potential basis for an eventual settlement of the sectarian civil war in Iraq as well as for U.S. withdrawal. But it could also be the basis for a new and more deadly phase of fighting if Sadr returns once more to military resistance.
Labels: Abu Aja Naemi, Al Qaeda, Iraqi Islamic Party, Mahdi Army, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Sunni militants, Sunni tribal leaders, the 1920 Revolution Brigades
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Al-Sadr believed to be planning to take advantage of power vacuum
Politics
(AP) - From hiding, possibly in Iran, U.S. nemesis and radical anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is believed to be honing plans to sweep into the power vacuum made all the more intense by news that his chief Shiite rival has lung cancer. And he's betting the U.S. won't keep its troops in Iraq much longer. Al-Sadr aides and loyal lawmakers have told The Associated Press the cleric's ambitions mean he will avoid taking on the Americans militarily as he did in 2004, when his Mahdi Army militia fought U.S. forces to a standstill.
Instead, the 33-year-old cleric plans to keep up the drumbeat of anti-American rhetoric, consolidate political gains in Baghdad and the mainly Shiite south, and quietly foster even closer ties with neighboring Iran and its Shiite theocracy. The strategy is based in part on al-Sadr's belief that Washington will soon start pulling out troops or draw them down significantly, leaving behind a huge hole in Iraq's security and political power structure, al-Sadr's associates said.
Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi told reporters Monday that Iraq's military is drawing up plans in case U.S.-led forces leave the country quickly. "The army plans on the basis of a worst-case scenario so as not to allow any security vacuum," al-Obeidi said. "There are meetings with political leaders on how we can deal with a sudden pullout." It was unclear whether al-Obeidi was referring to routine contingency planning, or if his remarks reflected a new realization among Iraqi leaders that the days of American support may be numbered.
Al-Sadr also believes, his associates said, that Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government may not last much longer, given its failure to improve security, services and the economy. A government collapse is certain to be followed by a political realignment in which the Sadrist movement stands a good chance of emerging as the main player. Al-Sadr's loyalists have 30 of parliament's 275 seats.
The six lawmakers and aides spoke to the AP in separate interviews over the past week. Several agreed to speak of the movement's future only on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss strategy with outsiders. They stuck to broad outlines, declining to be drawn into specifics. "We gave the government a historic opportunity, but al-Maliki did not use it and that's why we are preparing for a state led by the Sadrist movement," said an al-Sadr political aide who is among those who spoke on condition of anonymity. "An Islamic state led by the Sadrists is our future," he said.
Instead, the 33-year-old cleric plans to keep up the drumbeat of anti-American rhetoric, consolidate political gains in Baghdad and the mainly Shiite south, and quietly foster even closer ties with neighboring Iran and its Shiite theocracy. The strategy is based in part on al-Sadr's belief that Washington will soon start pulling out troops or draw them down significantly, leaving behind a huge hole in Iraq's security and political power structure, al-Sadr's associates said.
Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi told reporters Monday that Iraq's military is drawing up plans in case U.S.-led forces leave the country quickly. "The army plans on the basis of a worst-case scenario so as not to allow any security vacuum," al-Obeidi said. "There are meetings with political leaders on how we can deal with a sudden pullout." It was unclear whether al-Obeidi was referring to routine contingency planning, or if his remarks reflected a new realization among Iraqi leaders that the days of American support may be numbered.
Al-Sadr also believes, his associates said, that Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government may not last much longer, given its failure to improve security, services and the economy. A government collapse is certain to be followed by a political realignment in which the Sadrist movement stands a good chance of emerging as the main player. Al-Sadr's loyalists have 30 of parliament's 275 seats.
The six lawmakers and aides spoke to the AP in separate interviews over the past week. Several agreed to speak of the movement's future only on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss strategy with outsiders. They stuck to broad outlines, declining to be drawn into specifics. "We gave the government a historic opportunity, but al-Maliki did not use it and that's why we are preparing for a state led by the Sadrist movement," said an al-Sadr political aide who is among those who spoke on condition of anonymity. "An Islamic state led by the Sadrists is our future," he said.
"We want an Islamic system," said Nassar al-Rubaie, a Sadrist lawmaker. "We want a presidential system that will produce someone with a power similar to that of a Muslim caliph." On Tuesday, Sadrist lawmakers met with Sunni Arab tribal leaders leading a fight against militants from al-Qaida in Iraq in the western Anbar province. In a joint statement, the two sides called for local elections to be held soon and for Iraq's rival political blocs to rise above their differences.
"We believe that the Sadrist movement is an independent and nationalist movement that we are ready to cooperate with," said Omar Abdul-Sattar, a lawmaker from the Iraqi Islamic Party, the nation's largest Sunni group.
"We believe that the Sadrist movement is an independent and nationalist movement that we are ready to cooperate with," said Omar Abdul-Sattar, a lawmaker from the Iraqi Islamic Party, the nation's largest Sunni group.
Labels: Abdul-Qader al-Obeidi, Iraqi Islamic Party, local elections, Moqtada Al-Sadr, Omar Abdul-Sattar Mahmud, Sunni tribal leaders
Friday, April 20, 2007
Anbar tribes to form political coalition
Politics, Tribal
(LA Times) - A group of Sunni tribal leaders in beleaguered Al Anbar province said Thursday that it intended to form a national party to oppose insurgents such as Al Qaeda in Iraq and reengage with Iraq's political process. The announcement came after 200 sheiks said to represent 50 tribes met and agreed to form a provincial sheiks council and hold the first convention in May of their new party, called Iraq Awakening. Sheiks from three other provinces will attend, organizers said.
The driving force behind the new party, Sheik Abdul-Sattar abu Risha, said in an interview that the tribal leaders would be pushing a slate of candidates in Al Anbar provincial elections later this year, as well as in the next round of national parliamentary balloting, scheduled for 2009. One purpose of the party, Sattar said, is to promote a better image of American-led forces "to the Iraqis here." He added that the tribes also would participate in a U.S.-backed effort to reestablish a court system in Ramadi, the provincial capital.
The sheik is a leader of the Abu Risha tribe that is part of the larger Dulaimi tribal confederation in Al Anbar. His grab for power has been resented by some. His base of support remains around Ramadi, although he has been trying to reach out to other branches of the Dulaimi tribe around the province. Still, his history remains the subject of speculation, and others are wary of him, even though they may seek nominal affiliation with his movement as tribal leaders move to battle Al Qaeda in Iraq and its affiliates.
U.S. military leaders here said they were cheered by the announcement because cooperation from sheiks in Al Anbar in recent months had contributed to a rise in Iraqi police and army recruitment and a sharp reduction in insurgent attacks on U.S. troops and their Iraqi allies.
Al Anbar Gov. Mamoun Sami Rasheed said Thursday that the sheiks marginalized themselves by refusing to participate in Iraq's 2005 elections and, in some cases, supporting the Al Qaeda in Iraq organization. The sheiks in turn have mocked some of the provincial representatives for being absentee politicians with no local track record. Sattar said the sheiks council would offer "full accountability for anyone in his tribe. Also they will know of any strangers — man, woman or child — who try to mix in their neighborhoods."
Analysts who lauded the sheiks' announcement as well as U.S. efforts to work with them cautioned that the political situation remained fluid. "It's only now that the United States appears convinced of the need to build up local support against Al Qaeda," said Joost Hiltermann, a consultant with the International Crisis Group in Amman, the capital of Jordan. "What these people want is a restoration of Sunni power, or a preservation of certain privileges, or more simply, protection of their community from the Shiite majority and Iran."
Vali Nasr, a Middle East expert at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., said the "most important result may not be in the battlefield but in producing new Sunni voices that Shiites and Kurds can negotiate with." Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution in Washington said that improving U.S. relations with Sunni sheiks made "eminent sense" but that officials needed to be thinking about the "next step." "We need better contacts among Sunnis for the purposes of negotiating an end to the civil war," he said, "and this could create an opportunity to create partners in the larger project while also serving an immediate need."
Labels: Abu Risha tribe, Al Anbar, Al Qaeda in Iraq, Iraq Awakening, politics, provincial elections, Sheik Abdul-Sattar abu Risha, Sunni tribal leaders
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Islamic Army in Iraq criticises Al Qaeda in Iraq
Insurgency
(Al Jazeera) - An influential Iraqi Sunni armed group has called on al-Qaeda in Iraq to "review" its behaviour in the country. The Islamic Army in Iraq, believed to be the largest group of former Baathists and army officers fighting Iraqi and US forces, called on Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader, to take more responsibility for al-Qaeda in Iraq.
"Killing Sunnis has become a legitimate target for them, especially rich ones. Either they pay them what they want or they kill them," a statement from the group said. "They would kill any critic or whoever tries to show them their mistakes." The group said it had dealt with al-Qaeda with "patience and wisdom" to keep a united "resistance front. But this was not fruitful," the group said.
The growing tension highlights a struggle for power involving Sunni tribal leaders who are angered by al-Qaeda in Iraq's indiscriminate killing of civilians. Sunni Arab officials have also urged what they call "the real resistance" to disown al-Qaeda and engage in talks with the government to end violence which has driven the country closer to an all-out civil war.
"We also call ... on every Qaeda member in the Land of Mesopotamia to review themselves and their positions ... and for those who committed wrongful acts to repent quickly," the statement said. Also on Friday, Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, ordered that jobs and pensions be offered to former officers, many of whom had joined armed Sunni groups such as the Islamic Army of Iraq.
The Islamic Army in Iraq's appeal to al-Qaeda comes against a backdrop of continued violence in Sunni Arab areas. On Friday, at least 27 people were killed by a chlorine truck bomb in the city of Ramadi, west of Baghdad.
"Killing Sunnis has become a legitimate target for them, especially rich ones. Either they pay them what they want or they kill them," a statement from the group said. "They would kill any critic or whoever tries to show them their mistakes." The group said it had dealt with al-Qaeda with "patience and wisdom" to keep a united "resistance front. But this was not fruitful," the group said.
The growing tension highlights a struggle for power involving Sunni tribal leaders who are angered by al-Qaeda in Iraq's indiscriminate killing of civilians. Sunni Arab officials have also urged what they call "the real resistance" to disown al-Qaeda and engage in talks with the government to end violence which has driven the country closer to an all-out civil war.
"We also call ... on every Qaeda member in the Land of Mesopotamia to review themselves and their positions ... and for those who committed wrongful acts to repent quickly," the statement said. Also on Friday, Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, ordered that jobs and pensions be offered to former officers, many of whom had joined armed Sunni groups such as the Islamic Army of Iraq.
The Islamic Army in Iraq's appeal to al-Qaeda comes against a backdrop of continued violence in Sunni Arab areas. On Friday, at least 27 people were killed by a chlorine truck bomb in the city of Ramadi, west of Baghdad.
COMMENT: The Islamic Army in Iraq (IAI) is an inclusive Islamic organisation with Iraqi nationalist tendencies. IAI has carried out a brutal campaign against the U.S.-led coalition as well as the Iraqi security forces. The group has been implicated in several kidnappings and beheadings.The group’s leader claims that the group is predominantly Iraqi, not foreign-born. Although it carries an Islamic title, the group is thought to be the largest militant group that consists of former Baathists and has been labelled as "resistance" by Iraq's Sunni Vice-President Tariq al-Hashemi despite regular attacks against Iraqi soldiers and policemen and Shi'ite militias such as the Mahdi Army and Badr Corps.
Their criticism of Al Qaeda in Iraq coincides with al-Maliki announcing jobs and pensions for Baathists and former Iraqi armed forces. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Al Qaeda in Iraq, Baathists, Islamic Army in Iraq, Sunni tribal leaders
