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| Iraq |
| Baghdad tribes close to fighting al-Qaida |
| 2007-05-20 |
| Mirroring a nationwide trend, tribes near Baghdad are on the verge of banding together against al-Qaida and have met with U.S. military officials seeking aid and guidance in fighting the terrorist network. Acceptance of — if not outright support for — al-Qaida among the tribes eroded after the strict Islamic law imposed by insurgents clashed with the authority of the sheikhs, according to U.S. military officials. On Saturday, a group of local chieftains met with military commanders and a representative of the State Department at Camp Taji, about 20 miles northwest of Baghdad, and tentatively agreed to form a council that would oversee the creation of a provincial security force similar to the tribal militia created in western Iraq. “I think we all agree that our common enemy are extremists and that’s who we must defeat,” Col. Paul E. Funk II said to the roughly dozen sheikhs at the gathering. Funk, commander of the 1st “Ironhorse” Brigade Combat Tam, 1st Cavalry Division, presided over the meeting. With the fledgling alliance still in its early stages, the gathering at times resembled a negotiation. Several sheikhs asked for improvements in water treatment and electricity service as well as for inquiries into the detention by Iraqi security forces of relatives and tribal members. “Are you going to support us, or do we have to go knock on someone else’s door,” one sheikh asked. But even while U.S. commanders courted tribal support, they were wary of creating a new, separate fighting force and potentially further complicating the crowded battlefield around Baghdad that includes not only al-Qaida, but also Shiite militias. “We are not here to build another militia,” Funk said. Volunteers from the tribes must cooperate with the Iraqi government’s security forces, he said. The fragile, emerging alliance is being handled carefully by the military. No photographs were allowed at Saturday’s meeting, a nod toward security concerns and possible retaliation against the sheikhs. Lt. Col. Kurt Pinkerton, who commands the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment in Abu Ghraib, has been on the forefront of the military’s outreach to the tribes in the area. He said that the turning point in the struggle for the sympathies of the region came last September when al-Qaida in Iraq declared the establishment of the Islamic State of Iraq. The shadow government clashed with the centuries old tribal system, establishing Islamic sharia courts and often punishing dissention with kidnappings and death sentences. “Throughout history the tribes have been seen as a challenge and have been targeted. At one point Saddam tried to put them down, al-Qaeda tried, and now we need to keep the coalition from making the same mistakes,” Pinkerton said. “If you understand the [tribal] culture, you can understand the country better. Why not use tribal influence to meet your goals and objectives?” Tribes in western and northern Iraq have previously joined together to battle al-Qaida. The al-Anbar Revolutionaries have claimed to have killed dozens of insurgents, while after a meeting in the northern city of Hawijah near Kirkuk earlier this year, tribal heads and other community leaders issued a “declaration” against al-Qaida. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #7 Ironically, it seems the reduction of American forces from Anbar in 2006 seems to have had good consequences; Al Q moved in and the tribes got to know them up close and personal. No doubt this wasn't the plan and I suppose this won't work everywhere but its nice when it does/ |
| Posted by: mhw 2007-05-20 22:32 |
| #6 So they shirked responsible democracy and strict Sharia law. A nation of tribes. Thank God I don't live there. My cousins are idiots. |
| Posted by: Penguin 2007-05-20 21:29 |
| #5 Actually, setting up tribal militias RESPONSIBLE TO THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT wouldn't be a bad idea. The tribes could establish militias similar to the National Guard in the United States, responding first to the local area, but ultimately to the Federal government. Incorporating them into the federal structure is a darned sight better than have them acting as loose cannons. Besides, who would be better to protect their families than those that live among them. AQ may have just signed their own death warrant, not only in Iraq, but apparently the backlash is also growing in Pakistan. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2007-05-20 21:26 |
| #4 Oh, yeah - we should also make it really, really clear to the Maliki government that their rule is "provisional" up and until the time they frak things up - and that then we will step in and set up their government and Constitution for them, after killing a whole lot of people and blowing up a lot of stuff. Like we should have done in the first place. And there will not be any frakking mullahs or imams allowed in that government unless we say so. Enough with thith BS. |
| Posted by: FOTSGreg 2007-05-20 19:53 |
| #3 amen, RD |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-05-20 19:50 |
| #2 maybe premature but... Hats off to our folks for penetrating the thick Sunni Tribal/Baathist skulls. FACT: Our military personal is by far and away more capable, pragmatic and wise than any/every news person, professor, and/or politician put together. Their quality of character under pressure is without peer today. |
| Posted by: RD 2007-05-20 19:50 |
| #1 “Are you going to support us, or do we have to go knock on someone else’s door,” one sheikh asked. The answer to this should be an unqualified "YES!" and I mean unqualified. At this stage of this stupid game, we should start taking sides in this stupid, bloody, gawdawful civil war and make it loud and frakking clear that we support the "provisional" government if it can decide to get its head on straight and that, no matter what, we will support the people's efforts to get a handle on the situtation if their government cannot! |
| Posted by: FOTSGreg 2007-05-20 19:49 |