Say no more.
Posted on 01/26/2007 8:05:02 PM PST by jmc1969
Before tribal sheiks aligned themselves with U.S. forces in the violent deserts of western Iraq, the number of people willing to become police officers in the city of Ramadi -- the epicenter of the fight against the insurgent group known as al-Qaeda in Iraq -- might not have filled a single police pickup.
"Last March was zero," said Gen. Richard Zilmer, referring to the number of men recruited that month.
With the help of a confederation of about 50 Sunni Muslim tribal sheiks, the U.S. military recruited more than 800 police officers in December and is on track to do the same this month. Officers credit the sheiks' cooperation for the diminishing violence in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province.
"I don't want to paint too rosy a picture, but if you compare this to what it was seven or eight months ago, there is not a place in this city that al-Qaeda controls," said Col. James Lechner, in Ramadi.
The military says it has found a welcome ally in the tribal sheiks.
Between July and December, the number of roadside bombings and incidents involving indirect fire, such as mortar attacks, dropped by about 50 percent in Ramadi, according to the U.S. military. Many al-Qaeda fighters lived in the suburbs of Ramadi and attacked in the city. But "the sheiks have sent their men out there and secured that," Lechner said.
Mahmood Farhan, sheik of Ramadi's large Albu Chlaib tribe, opposes the confederation. Its members "are creating their own militias to control the province," he said, adding: "Up until now, they have not created anything good for the city. They are only protecting their own areas and protecting the occupiers." Farhan supports attacks against American troops.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
From what I hear from soldiers on the ground there, interacting with them, that's right on target. You get the tribes on your side, you're set. You ignore that, you might as well bang your head against the wall.
That is what Special Forces do-multiply their force with indigenous allies.
Say no more.
Ping
where do you get these pictures? ping
Beats a gerbil, I guess.
I can't remember his name, but the pdf-file he made to explain the strategy is here, at ABC News. It's funny and insightful (and tragic, given this hero's death).
He was correct about Bremer in that PDF.
Bremer passed a law that forbid the US to offer contracts to the tribes. Basically, what the US Army and the tribal leaders wanted to do was to made a deal that in exchance for contracts like to build water stations the tribes would provide fighters for the Iraqi Army and police.
Bremer looked upon the tribes as backward institutions that need to be abolished in the new Iraq, so he decided that the US would not make deals with them or work with them. Then as you might have guessed the Baathists and al-Qaeda knew better and came to the tribes with millions of dollars and made deals.
Sure. But where did his orders come from?
U.S. confirms troops' kidnapping in Iraq (4 GIs Handcuffed And Shot In Head)
AP | 26 January 2007 17 Minutes Ago | STEVEN R. HURST and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
Posted on 01/26/2007 4:44:39 PM EST by shrinkermd
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1774324/posts
Saw that one coming 2000 miles away; well done, though.
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