US-Backed Militias

The Bush administration has been so enthusiastic in touting its new alliance with Sunni tribal leaders in Anbar province that it's easy to overlook two basic questions: Why did it take so long to reach an accommodation with the Sunnis? And is Anbar really a good model for stabilizing the rest of Iraq?

First, the what-took-so-long issue: The fact is, Sunni tribal leaders have been queuing up for four years to try to make the kind of alliances that have finally taken root in Anbar. For most of that time, these overtures were rebuffed by U.S. officials who, not inaccurately, regarded the Sunni sheiks as local warlords.

This disdain for potential allies was a mistake, but so is the recent sugarcoating of the tribal leaders. They are tough Bedouin chiefs, sometimes little more than smugglers and gangsters. The United States should make tactical alliances with them, but we shouldn't have stars in our eyes. The tendency to overidealize our allies has been a consistent mistake.

Like other journalists who follow Iraq, I began talking with Sunni tribal leaders in 2003. Most of the meetings were in Amman, Jordan, arranged with help from former Jordanian government officials who had perfected the art of paying the sheiks. One contact was a member of the Kharbit clan, which had long maintained friendly (albeit secret) relations with the Jordanians and the Americans. The Kharbits were eager for an alliance, even after a U.S. bombing raid killed one of their leaders, Malik Kharbit, in April 2003. But U.S. officials were disdainful.

More

Saturday, May 3, 2008 : Silent majority caught in crossfire Iraqi Parliament members from several political blocs went to Baghdads Sadr City last week hoping to stop the violence that has trapped civilians in the crossfire. The delegation was accompanied by representatives of Moqtada al-Sadr, in what some called a lobbying effort to get the Iraqi government to stop its campaign against Sadrs Mahdi Army militia.

However, virtually the entire Iraqi political spectrum has called for elimination of all militias, and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, once thought on the ropes, has won increased support for moving against private armed groups.

It was a very bold step of Malikis to take on these militias, so we have to say hes doing a good job, said a spokesman for the Iraqi Accord Front, the largest Sunni bloc. Like most Iraqis, this group blames the Mahdi Army for many of the sectarian killings in recent years. The Accord Front said it is rejoining the government following a nine-month boycott.

These developments are part of a jockeying for position in provincial elections set for Oct. 1. Iraq Communist Party spokesperson Salam Ali told the World, The Sadrists want to maintain their militia until the forthcoming elections. Their empty anti-occupation rhetoric is used as a cover to achieve this aim. The militia activity, Ali said, is primarily aimed at settling scores with rivals.

Actually, he added, the divisive violence plays into the hands of the occupiers at a time when a unified national stance is needed to deal with the highly important negotiations with the U.S. a reference to the Bush administrations push for an agreement locking U.S. presence in Iraq for years to come.

Read More