Sheikh's death threatens US success in Anbar Province
Sheikh Abu Risha, who rallied Sunni tribesmen against Al Qaeda, was killed by a roadside bomb on Thursday.
By Sam Dagher | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitorand Gordon Lubold | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the September 14, 2007 edition
Page 1 of 2
Beirut, Lebanon; and Baghdad - Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha who, in his own words, led a "revolution" against Al Qaeda in Iraq's western Anbar Province was killed in a bombing Thursday. His death has tarnished one of America's rare success stories in the war.
Sheikh Abu Risha's death, which was the result of a roadside bomb explosion near his home in the provincial capital Ramadi, comes at a crucial time. The Sunni tribal forces he led were moving closer to creating a formidable block with sufficient weight to provide representation for the embittered community in the government and counter those Sunnis who still believe in using violence to achieve their aims. .
"This is a tragic loss," said Gen. David Petraeus, the top US commander in Iraq, in a statement released in Washington by his spokesman. "It's a terrible loss for Anbar Province and all of Iraq. ... He was an organizing force who did help organize alliances and did help keep the various tribes together."
His death came 10 days after meeting President Bush during his visit to Anbar.
In his testimony before the House and the Senate, as well as in press conferences earlier this week, General Petraeus praised the decision of the Anbar tribes led by Abu Risha to begin fighting Al Qaeda in October, as well as the recapturing of Ramadi from the grips of militants. He described the tribes' actions as the most dramatic, surprising, and significant development in Iraq over the past eight months.
"The tribal rejection of Al Qaeda that started in Anbar Province and helped produce such significant change there has now spread to a number of other locations as well," he told Congress as he pointed to charts showing how monthly attacks in Anbar declined from 1,350 in October 2006 to 200 in August of this year.
Petraeus first met Abu Risha during an encounter outside a US military headquarters building in Ramadi in March.
"I have enormous respect for what you and your tribe have started," Petraeus told the sheikh during the meeting, captured by a videographer.
Abu Risha responded: "Anbar is with you, and people who tell you that Anbar is not with you, they are liars," Abu Risha said through an interpreter.
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