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Born at the Crest of the Empire

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

US buying loyalty of 'concerned' Iraqis

I found this AFP piece a very interesting read.
American commanders are unashamedly buying the loyalty of Iraqi tribal leaders and junior officials, a strategy they trumpet as a major success but which critics fear will lead to hidden costs in terms of militia and sectarian strife.

These low-level Iraqi leaders from the Madain area south of Baghdad are meeting top US military brass for the second time in four days.....

"Tell me how I can help you," asks Major-General Rick Lynch, commander of US-led forces in central Iraq.

A Sunni sheikh who lost his son to an Al-Qaeda suicide bomber says he needs more bodyguards as he has hardly left his house in three months for fear of attack. Others list money, drinkable water, more uniforms, more projects.

One mentions weapons, but the general insists: "I can give you money to work in terms of improving the area. What I cannot do - this is very important - is give you weapons."

The gravity of the war council in a tent at the US forward operating base at Camp Assassin is suspended for a few moments as one of the local Iraqi leaders says jokingly but knowingly: "Don't worry! Weapons are cheap in Iraq."

"That's right, that's exactly right," laughs Lynch in reply.
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2 Comments:

  • That kind of help is peanuts. The Sunnis want Kirkuk.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:33 AM  

  • Definitely. I read an interesting unsourced item earlier about the Kurds selling oil rights outside their current territory.

    "The simmering row between Iraq’s Oil Ministry and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in Irbil over its recent moves to license oil companies for exploration and development in KRG-controlled areas of northern Iraq stepped up a gear this week after allegations by former Iraqi Oil Minister Issam Chalabi, in a /MEES /interview, that the production-sharing contract awarded to US independent Hunt Oil in early September relates to areas of Iraq at present outside KRG control. If confirmed, the development would appear to suggest that the KRG is not only targeting oil investment, but may have broader political ambitions for control of oil and gas in the disputed areas adjacent to its territory in northern Iraq."

    There was no link, but it's on a blog I trust.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 11:14 AM  

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