IRAQ:The strategy of paying Iraqis as private security contractors and working with them is spreading, writes Karen McCarthyin Baghdad
The Anbar awakening is taking hold in Sunni tribal areas around Mahmudiyah, the strategic city that lies along the main artery into Baghdad, as tribal leaders follow the lead of Sheikh Abdul Satar Aburisha of Anbar Province to remove al-Qaeda from their lands.
Ten Anbar sheikhs who were tired of al-Qaeda oppression, executions and the backlash from attacks on US forces, organised their Sunni tribes to kill or disperse the terrorists with rapid success last year. Now the leaders of southern Baghdad tribes including the Zobai, Qharghulli and Saidi are following suit with US support.
In a matter of months security has substantially improved. The US now pays these sheikhs as private security contractors, works with them to establish basic services, education and local government and collects intelligence on insurgents. The strategy is spreading and more armed voluntary security groups known as Concerned Citizens are forming.
Some of these volunteers were once with Saddam's regime or were former insurgents who diverged from al-Qaeda's vision for Iraq. This has caused some tension between them and the predominantly Shia Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) some of whom are perceived to be sympathisers of the al-Mahdi army, an insurgent force loyal to rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Not all volunteers have other affiliations. In the Saidi tribe, the volunteer leader is a former Iraqi army captain who resigned to protect his own area.
Working with the volunteers is part of a US strategy of reconciliation with former hostile groups, particularly in Sunni-dominated areas where ISF are largely absent.
Through co-operation with Sunni sheikhs and volunteer security forces, the most effective weapon against Sunni extremists has been Sunnis themselves. They say a similar stand is needed by the Shia against the Mahdi army and its rival, the Badr Corp, the armed wing of the Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI, which was created and trained in Iran during the Iran-Iraq war.
There are some indications that Shias are taking charge in rural areas with the recent establishment of volunteers by the al-Ammry tribe. However, Shias are largely concentrated in urban areas where the authority of the sheikhs is considerably weaker and official security forces negate the need for indigenous armed volunteers.
"Big headache in a small town," is how Gen Ali, commander of the Iraqi forces in Mahmudiyah, described the Shia-dominated city of about 140,000 people. It sits on a sectarian fault line along Route Jackson that leads directly from Baghdad to main roads into Iran.
Saddam filled the area with loyal Sunnis to protect the city, but over the last year the Mahdi army replaced them with Shia residents.
Mahmudiyah is a haven for regular and rogue Mahdi army, Badr Corp and al-Qaeda. Regular members of the Mahdi army take orders from Moqtada al-Sadr. No one attempts to define their goals, but city mayor Mouad Fadil al-Ameri said special Mahdi members are a criminal element devoid of ideology, seeking only power and money. Others believe some rogue cells outside Sadr's control may have significant ties to Iran.
"Mainstream JAM [ Mahdi] we can try to work with," said Lieut Col Morschauser. "They're not completely against the government of Iraq." Other military sources say mainstream Mahdi and Badr Corp show some willingness to work with Sunnis.
Tensions have been rising between these militias particularly in the south where al-Qaeda's lesser presence leaves them without a common enemy.
Last week when Shias made their pilgrimage along Jackson to the Imam Hassayn Shrine in Karbala, fighting broke out between members of the Mahdi army and the Iraqi police, many of whom are Badr Corp. Fifty-one people were killed.
General Ali said all the problems surrounding the pilgrimage were caused by 20 people trying to incite others to join. Instead, he believes people are beginning to turn against the special force of the Mahdi army.
"There's a 500 per cent increase in the number of people giving intelligence," said Col Kershaw of the US army. "The quality of the information is increasing." Last Saturday local informants helped US and Iraqi troops to conduct an operation in the Mahdi-overrun Zo'bi apartments. They detained six of their most-wanted militia members and a Shia extremist responsible for many killings during his attempt to control Route Jackson.
Residents of the apartments pay the Mahdi army protection money and admitted to being intimidated.
They have high-regard for Sadr calling him "a good man surrounded by a lot of bad men" but doubt he can control the special elite of the Mahdi or lead the country.
Sadr diffused tensions this week when he ordered his army to cease all violent activities and attacks on US and Iraqi forces for six months in an effort to reorganise, root out rogue elements and "honour the principals on which it is formed".
Military sources say the cessation will allow ISF and US forces to isolate criminal elements since any activity now will be from the Mahdi special force. Col Abdul Mushin of the Iraqi army believes the Mahdi army is also giving his army tips about rogue cells in an effort to have them eliminated without engaging in an overt war.
In order to find an effective political solution Col Mushin hopes the office of Moqtada al-Sadr will legitimise itself in government and let the people rely on the Iraqi Security Forces for protection.
The Shia residents of the embattled Zo'bi apartments believe a political solution demands the restaffing of the ministries of the interior and defence with competent, non-sectarian people. A US withdrawal before that happens, they say, will mean disaster for Iraq.
Karen McCarthy is embedded with US troops in Iraq