Sunni tribes in Anbar agree to combat foreign fighters

[ECH1969]

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Sunni tribesmen of Iraq's restive al-Anbar province have agreed to take over combating foreign fighters there and securing the borders, officials said.

The agreement was reached earlier this week in an meeting with US and Iraqi officials, who included US commander General George Casey and Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari. Tribal leaders will also encourage their followers to enlist in the Iraqi army and police forces.

Osama al-Jadaan, head of the Karabla tribe along the border, also attended the meeting and said his forces were ready to go after the foreign fighters. "The Americans know we, the tribal heads in the west of Iraq, are very effective, we have arrested many foreign fighters and turned them over to the government and to the Americans."

"We are more than 175,000, this is the main tribe that will do security," Jadaan said, declining to call the proposed force a militia, but rather a "tribal organization."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060210/wl_mideast_afp/iraqustribesunrest_060210181312

[LynnTheDem]

1. "foreign fighters" as in US troops?

Or the "less than 5% of insurgents"?

[tatertop]

2. We will train and arm the enemy we have created.

Perpetual war

[gizmo1979]

3. This is always a good plan.

It's worked so well before.My word the inmates are trully running the asylum!

[bigdarryl]

7. fighters

I thought we didn't negotiate with terrorist

[enigma000]

4. It was only a matter of time

An Iraqi military commander in Tikrit also said that tribes in the central Salaheddin province were tired of the Al-Qaeda presence there.

"The tribes have been giving us information on the location of the Zarqawi people in these areas," said the officer, who would not be named.

"They (Al-Qaeda) started killing religious and tribal leaders, as well as their children working in the army," he said, explaining the change.

Zarqawi declared war on the Shia, Kurds, Sunni, government officials, well....just about everyone. It was only a matter of time this was going to happen.

[pinto]

5. Educated guess says he means Shia...

[Teaser]

6. More good news sure to be contradicted in

the next news story out of the area.

Since the "foreign fighters" barely exist at all, this is just more smoke being blown up everyone's asses.