BAGHDAD — The U.S. military has reported Sunni tribal participation
in the war against Al Qaida in Iraq.
Officials said the U.S. military, which on Thursday launched a
counter-insurgency drive in Baghdad, has won the cooperation of several
Sunni tribes in the Anbar province along the borders with Jordan and Syria.
Tribal fighters have eliminated Al Qaida strongholds in parts of
Anbar, particularly along the Syrian border, Middle East Newsline reported.
"They want to clear their neighborhoods of the disbelievers, the
Takfiri, the criminals, who offer no hope, no opportunity, no vision for a
peaceful future," Maj. Gen. Richard Zilmer, commander of Multinational Force
West, said. "We think the security climate has shifted in a positive
manner."
Officials said Sunni tribes in Anbar have contributed about 2,000
recruits for the Iraqi security forces. They said tribal leaders have also
provided intelligence on Al Qaida strongholds and activities, which have
enabled strikes in and around the Anbar capital of Ramadi.
"It is this growing cooperation with the local community, this common
interest in a better life for its citizens, so that they can again prosper,
that gives me guarded optimism in the future of Anbar," Zilmer, a Marine
Corps officer, told a Pentagon briefing on Jan. 30.
Still, Anbar has fallen short of plans to fill U.S. security
requirements. Officials said the police force requires another 3,500
officers while the Iraq Army has not filled recruitment allotments.
The U.S. military has deployed close to 15,000 troops in Anbar.
President George Bush has ordered another 4,000 Marines in the province in a
drive to expel Al Qaida and stop the flow of Sunni fighters from Syria.
The Iraq Army has deployed its first and seventh divisions in Anbar.
Altogether, the army has maintained 14,000 troops in the province.
The participation of the Sunni tribes has been encouraged by the
investment of hundreds of millions of dollars in development of Anbar.
In 2006, officials said, U.S. and coalition forces completed more
than 300 projects worth about $51 million in Anbar.
A key challenge has been the mission in Ramadi, a major insurgency
stronghold. The U.S. military has built forward operating bases in the
city's worst neighborhoods to establish a full-time dismounted presence and
launched a drive to eliminate the insurgency presence in partnership with
the Iraq Army.
Officials said the U.S. military has sought to control exit and entry
into Ramadi, build a police force and develop the city's economy. Many of
the projects have focused on restoring basic services, such as water,
electricity and rail service.
"Make no mistake about it, we've been involved in a fight out here for
the last year," Zilmer said. "This is a very active, a very vibrant
insurgency that exists out here. We've been very successful in our
operations over the course of the last year."
