 |
| Target: Sheikh Ali al-Hatem (l.), a leader in the Awakening Movement, escaped a twin car bombing in Baghdad Monday that killed
22 people. Sam Dagher |
Rift threatens U.S. antidote to Al Qaeda in Iraq
Growing divisions among pro-US Sunni tribal chiefs threatens to unravel American gains against Al Qaeda.
from the February 13, 2008 edition
Page 2 of 3
Sheikh Ahmed has already forged an alliance in Anbar with Iraq's top Sunni party, the Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) of Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, and was named as a possible minister within Mr. Hashemi's Sunni bloc should it return to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government. It has boycotted the government since August.
Notably absent from Tuesday's meeting was Sheikh Hatem, who regards himself as the rightful chief of Sahwa. He has assailed Hashemi for trying to hijack the movement to serve what he calls the IIP's corrupt goals in Anbar. He has even accused the party of maintaining links to Al Qaeda. IIP officials deny those charges.
"More dangerous than Al Qaeda are the political parties that continue to support Al Qaeda.… Al Qaeda is a convenient scapegoat for a lot of things.… It's open war against our enemies and our response will be swift," Hatem said Monday, hours after a truck bomber rammed into the parking lot of his Baghdad office, killing six of his guards and wounding 20. Minutes later a second car bomb exploded nearby. The combined death toll was 22.
Sheikh Hatem's way
A week before the bombings at Hatem's compound, soldiers and policemen guarded the building on a leafy street in Jadriyah district of Baghdad. The sheikh arrived in a shiny new white SUV as part of a teeming convoy. He descended from the driver's seat clutching a holster belt holding his pistol.
In a testament to what he describes as his impeccable tribal credentials, the walls of Hatem's office are covered with black-and-white photos of his ancestors, including his great-grandfather, Sheikh Ali al-Sulieman, the so-called prince of Anbar's Dulaim tribal confederation, who is believed to have helped the British in installing a monarchy in Iraq in 1921.
Hatem, wearing a navy blazer over his traditional tribal dress, eschews the niceties of classical Arabic in favor of Iraqi slang.
He says that Al Qaeda isn't the only group that wants to diminish the growing power of the Sahwa Movement. He believes the ruling Shiite political parties are increasingly nervous about its rising assertiveness. And, he says, Sunni political parties see it as serious competition.
The Sahwa Movement, he says, began with a conference of 12 tribal sheikhs, including himself and the late Abdul-Sattar, in early 2006. They all pledged to fight the brutality of Al Qaeda, which had sought to overpower the Anbari tribes. He proudly recounts how he himself used to execute captured Al Qaeda operatives, many of whom were members of his own tribe.
He says Abdul-Sattar went out of his way to please the Americans and committed the "ultimate tribal faux pas by meeting with President Bush" during his visit to Anbar without consulting other tribal elders.
"People were upset when the Americans gave such prominence to Sattar although there were others who were more deserving. There are leaders that took the fight to Al Qaeda," says Hatem. As he gestures, a diamond-studded wrist-watch appears under the cuff of his finely embroidered tribal robe.
RSS feed
