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Shiite sheiks explore alliance with Americans

They want to uproot extremist militias, some possibly aided by Iran.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published September 16, 2007

KUT, Iraq - U.S. commanders in southern Iraq say Shiite sheiks are showing interest in joining forces with the U.S. military against extremists, in much the same way that Sunni clansmen in the western part of the country have worked with American forces against al-Qaida.

Sheik Majid Tahir al-Magsousi, the leader of the Migasees tribe in Wasit province, acknowledged tribal leaders have discussed creating a brigade of young men trained by the Americans to bolster local security as well as help patrol the border with Iran.

The movement by Shiite clan leaders is still in the early stages but offers the potential to give U.S. and Iraqi forces another tactical advantage in curbing lawlessness in Shiite areas. It also would give the Americans another resource as they beef up their presence on the border with Iran, which the military accuses of arming and training Shiite extremists.

Similar alliances with Sunni tribes in the western Anbar province helped break the grip of groups such as al-Qaida in Iraq and were widely cited in the Washington hearings as a major military success this year.

Such pacts to fill the vacuum left by Iraqi police and soldiers unable or unwilling to act against Shiite militias carries even greater potential spinoffs for Iraq's U.S.-backed leadership - but also higher risks.

Shiites represent about 60 percent of Iraq's population and the bulk of the security forces and Parliament. Worsening the current Shiite-on-Shiite battles could ripple to the highest levels.

But U.S. officials at the heart of the effort hope to tap a wellspring of public frustration with militias and criminal gangs to recruit the tribal volunteers.

"It's an antimilitia movement ... Shiite extremists of all stripes," said Wade Weems, head of a Provincial Reconstruction Team leading the dialogue in the Wasit province.

"We see consistently expressed deep frustration or anger with the activities of militia that appear to be untethered to any sort of guiding authority, appear to be really criminal in nature," he added.

But while the military has made inroads with Sunni leaders in some Baghdad neighborhoods and areas surrounding the capital, officials stressed it's too early to know if efforts to extend the strategy to Shiite leaders will take root.

"This is a very different province and a very different dynamic and we're not going to just adopt lock, stock and barrel another province's model and impose it here," Weems said. "This will take some time for us to understand exactly what it is these tribes want to do."

In Anbar, the goal of the Sunnis was to drive al-Qaida in Iraq away from towns and villages because of the terror movement's attempt to impose a rigorous Islamic lifestyle.

In Wasit, which borders Iran, the goal is to rein in armed Shiite groups, some of them probably armed by Iran, which are locked in a power struggle that is making life intolerable for ordinary people.

U.S. officers believe last month's fighting among rival Shiite militias during a religious festival in Karbala may have been the last straw. Up to 52 people died in the clashes, which marred what was supposed to be a joyous celebration.

Anger also rose after the assassinations of two southern provincial governors that were seen as part of a brutal contest among rival Shiite militias to control parts of Iraq's main oil regions.

[Last modified September 16, 2007, 01:22:05]