The sudden assertion of human criteria within a dehumanising framework of political manipulation can be like a flash of lightning illuminating a dark landscape
The sudden assertion of human criteria within a dehumanising framework of political manipulation can be like a flash of lightning illuminating a dark landscape
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an interview
This is a link to an interview with the chairman of the Anbar Salvation Council in Iraq, Shaykh Sattar Bzay'a discussing how his group is addressing the security problems of Iraq.
Submitted on Sun, 2007-07-15 17:52
Good website
Very interesting and well put together site. I wondered how this has been funded - it is all very professional and has an air of confidence and solidity rare in anything about Iraq these days. It turns out it is funded by the German Foreign Ministry and supported by the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation.
As far as the Anbar Salvation Council I have mixed views. On one hand it is good that this group is trying to do something positive to get rid of the armed militias but you can see how the Iraqi government might see them as potentially just another one of these militias. Also I would doubt that they would represent the views of many Iraqis. However it is a start, and getting rid of the bad guys with guns has got to be a good aim.
Try the questionaire on:
http://www.niqash.org/wahlomat/wahlstart.php
(there is something odd about the link but you can get there)
You can see which Iraqi party best represents your views.
englishman
I liked the interview.
I havent looked much at the Iraq Draft Constitution yet so the test didnt work for me.
It was difficult at first to find any further information about the Anbar Salvation Council because they are known by a few different names: Anbar Front, Anbar Council, Anbar Awakening, and an Arabic name that I believe was the name of the leaders tribe. There are conflicting opinions about who they are and what they're about. They are known to have allied themselves with the US and are occasionally referred to as puppets. They have very brutal ways of fighting Al Qaeda. Some say they are supportive of the Iraqi government others say they aren't.
While reading about all of this today, I thought they might be a militia and then briefly considered that they were going to save Iraq.
The Limits of an Iraq Tribal Strategy
Terrific interview that offers hope.
Frankly, I'm surprised at the lack of response to this thread by some of the regular OD liberals. In combination with the US surge, this offers real hope but also provides insight into the tribal problem and tribal solution required to pacify Iraq.
My favorite parts of the interview...
What did you achieve until now?
We have fully cracked down on armed groups in Al-Ramadi and some surrounding small cities such as Heet, Kabisah, and Barwanah. Some cities like Haditha, Al-Qaem, Anah, Rawah and Falluja are not yet fully under control. We are currently sending undercover members to the nearby provinces of Tikrit, Mosul, Baghdad, Diala and other areas surrounding Anbar to chase those who escaped. We want the people of the region to revolt against armed groups and then we provide them with financial and moral support.
What do you promise the citizens and what do you expect from them and from the Iraqi government?
We have formed a political group under the name "Iraq Awakening." It is a technocrat grouping which will take its role in the administration of the city and if we win in the coming elections, in which we intend to participate. We are working now on gathering as many Iraqi tribes as possible under our leadership to work together to wake Iraq up from its deep sleep. We only ask people to be patient because this process will take a long time in order to rid ourselves from those who came from outside our borders to control us. We ask the Iraqi government to cooperate with us and to give our members the chance to hunt down the armed groups in the capital city of Baghdad. We shall undertake to fully crack down on the armed groups in the city in less than two months time because we now have the needed information on these groups and we are only waiting for the approval of the government to clean Baghdad from them and the same goes for the nearby provinces.
The coming days will prove to everyone that the tribal solution of the crisis of Iraq is the only possible solution.
Clearly there are inherent risks and the article cited by Englishman is spot-on. But even Mao acknowledged that no insurgency could survive without the support of the people. If tribal allies are what it takes to pacify Iraq, then so be it,and face the political hurdles afterwards.
IM
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