New Leaders Of Sunnis Make Gains In Influence

Video

A Visit to Maderiyah

This video clip shows Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, the top U.S. commander for many areas south of Baghdad, walking through the village of Maderiyah with Sunni fighters of the U.S.-backed Awakening forces, who are wearing reflective belts.

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Salah al-Obaidi, Sadr's chief spokesman in Najaf, said the government and U.S. military were "opening the doors for al-Qaeda followers and killers of Shiites" to reemerge as the Awakening movement. "It will lead Iraq into more trouble," Obaidi warned.

A Community 'Up for Grabs'

Suleiman, the Anbar tribal chief, and other Awakening leaders are trying to leverage their community's growing street power into political clout in Baghdad. Under U.S. pressure, the government has hired 23,000 Anbar fighters into the police force. But Suleiman is expecting a lot more in return.

"We're asking the Americans and Iraqi government, 'Where is the reconstruction?' " Suleiman said.

Last month, the Awakening's political arm recommended 15 people to fill ministerial positions left empty by the Tawafaq, the main Sunni political bloc, which pulled out of the government in August.

"We're at a period when the Sunni community is a bit up for grabs right now in terms of leadership," said a senior U.S. diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The tribal chiefs view the Tawafaq politicians as outsiders because many were in exile during Hussein's reign. The Tawafaq bloc is also widely believed to have insurgent links.

"The Tawafaq are not able to represent the needs of the people," said Hameed al-Haies, a burly Anbar tribal leader who survived three assassination attempts by al-Qaeda in Iraq. The latest left a bullet scar on his chest. "The people like us a lot. They think we are the spark that helped Iraq."

Tawafaq leader Adnan al-Dulaimi said that his group's members welcomed the Awakening's political involvement but added that the 2005 elections, in which Tawafaq won 44 parliamentary seats, were proof that the bloc had "wide support among the Sunni society."

"No side can say it alone represents all Sunnis," he said.

The Awakening movement itself is divided, along lines of tribe, territory, ideology and personality. Not all the Awakening forces report to Suleiman's group. The tribal leaders are wary of the former insurgents once aligned with al-Qaeda in Iraq or former Hussein loyalists.

One such person is Abu Abed, a 35-year-old former Hussein-era army sergeant and intelligence officer who controls Baghdad's Amiriyah neighborhood with his Knights of Mesopotamia force.

When asked about Abu Abed, Rasheed Jubair, a senior Anbar Awakening leader, said: "If he does something wrong, I will break his back. We don't accept anyone to go beyond the law."