Iraq Tribal Study AL-ANBAR GOVERNORATE ALBU FAHD TRIBE ALBU MAHAL TRIBE ALBU ISSA TRIBE GLOBAL GLOBAL RESOURCES RISK GROUP This Page Intentionally Left Blank Iraq Tribal Study Iraq Tribal Study – Al-Anbar Governorate: The Albu Fahd Tribe, The Albu Mahal Tribe and the Albu Issa Tribe Study Director and Primary Researcher: Lin Todd Contributing Researchers: W. Patrick Lang, Jr., Colonel, US Army (Retired) R. Alan King Andrea V. Jackson Montgomery McFate, PhD Ahmed S. Hashim, PhD Jeremy S. Harrington Research and Writing Completed: June 18, 2006 Study Conducted Under Contract with the Department of Defense. i Iraq Tribal Study This Page Intentionally Left Blank ii Iraq Tribal Study Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CHAPTER ONE. Introduction 1-1 CHAPTER TWO. Common Historical Characteristics and Aspects of the Tribes of Iraq and al-Anbar Governorate 2-1 • Key Characteristics of Sunni Arab Identity 2-3 • Arab Ethnicity 2-3 – The Impact of the Arabic Language 2-4 – Arabism 2-5 – Authority in Contemporary Iraq 2-8 • Islam 2-9 – Islam and the State 2-9 – Role of Islam in Politics 2-10 – Islam and Legitimacy 2-11 – Sunni Islam 2-12 – Sunni Islam Madhabs (Schools of Law) 2-13 – Hanafi School 2-13 – Maliki School 2-14 – Shafii School 2-15 – Hanbali School 2-15 – Sunni Islam in Iraq 2-16 – Extremist Forms of Sunni Islam 2-17 – Wahhabism 2-17 – Salafism 2-19 – Takfirism 2-22 – Sunni and Shia Differences 2-23 – Islam and Arabism 2-24 – Role of Islam in Government and Politics in Iraq 2-25 – Women in Islam 2-26 – Piety 2-29 – Fatalism 2-31 – Social Justice 2-31 – Quranic Treatment of Warfare vs. Actual Practice 2-32 – Islam and Tribalism 2-33 TC -1 Iraq Tribal Study Table of Contents • Tribalism and the Bedouin Tribal Ideal 2-36 – Role of Tribes in Society 2-38 – Collectivism 2-39 – Honor and Shame 2-39 – Tribal Structure and Organization 2-41 – Tribes and the Iraqi State 2-44 – Urban vs. Rural Culture 2-44 – Cultural Style of Warfare 2-46 – Greetings, Hospitality, and Privacy 2-47 – Negotiation 2-48 – Conflict Resolution 2-48 CHAPTER THREE. History of Tribes in Iraq 3-1 • General Pattern of Tribalism in Iraq 3-2 • Brief Chronology of the Wars of Conquest of Iraq 3-4 • Ancient Iraq 3-8 • The Arab Conquest 3-9 • Abbasid Caliphate: 750 - 1258 3-11 • The Mongol Invasion: 1258 3-12 • Iraq Under Ottoman Rule: 1534 - 1918 3-13 • WWI and British Mandate: 1914 - 1932 3-19 • The Monarchy: 1932 - 1958 3-22 • The Iraqi Republic: 1958 – 1968 3-26 • The 1968 Baathist Coup - 1980 3-27 • The Iran-Iraq War and the Gulf War: 1980 – 1993 3-30 • UN Sanctions and the Demise of the Baath Party: 1993 - 2003 3-38 • The End of the Saddam Era 3-40 CHAPTER FOUR. The Tribes of al-Anbar Governorate 4-1 • Post-Baath Sunni Arab Behavior 4-2 • Sunni Arab Tribal Interests 4-3 • Al-Anbar Governorate 4-4 • The Three Target Tribes: Albu Fahd, Albu Mahal, and Albu Issa 4-5 • The Dulaym Tribal Confederation 4-5 • The Albu Fahd Tribe 4-10 – Ancient History Through 20th Century 4-10 – Territorial Issues 4-11 – Lineage, Linkages, and Alliances 4-11 – Key Traits and Cultural Narratives 4-16 – Actions During Previous Crisis Periods 4-16 – Religion 4-17 – Economic Issues 4-17 TC -2 Iraq Tribal Study Table of Contents – Influential Leaders 4-18 – General Background Since March 2003 4-18 – Participation in Insurgency / Relations with Insurgent Groups 4-19 – Relations with Coalition 4-20 • The Albu Mahal Tribe 4-27 – Ancient History Through 20th Century 4-27 – Territorial Issues 4-27 – Lineage, Linkages, and Alliances 4-28 – Key Traits and Cultural Narratives 4-30 – Actions During Previous Crisis Periods 4-30 – Religion 4-31 – Economic Issues 4-31 – Influential Leaders 4-31 – General Background Since March 2003 4-32 – Participation in Insurgency / Relations with Insurgent Groups 4-32 – Relations with Coalition 4-33 • The Albu Issa Tribe 4-36 – Ancient History Through 20th Century 4-36 – Territorial Issues 4-37 – Lineage, Linkages, and Alliances 4-37 – Key Traits and Cultural Narratives 4-40 – Actions During Previous Crisis Periods 4-40 – Religion 4-41 – Economic Issues 4-41 – Influential Leaders 4-42 – General Background Since March 2003 4-42 – Participation in Insurgency / Relations with Insurgent Groups 4-42 – Relations with Coalition 4-43 CHAPTER FIVE. Tribal Influence – Historical Analysis 5-1 • The Ottoman Experience with the Tribes in Iraq 5-2 • The British Experience with the Tribes in Iraq 5-11 • Counter Insurgency in Oman: The Dhofar Rebellion, 1962-1975 5-31 • Strife in Yemen: British Counter Insurgency Opns in Aden, 1955-1967 5-36 • Tribal Warfare in Saudi Arabia: Ibn Saud’s Consolidation of Power, 1902-1924 5-39 • Saddam Period in Iraq 5-42 TC -3 Iraq Tribal Study Table of Contents CHAPTER SIX. Analytic and Operational Tools in Counter Insurgency 6-1 • An Overview of Insurgency 6-1 – Definitions of and Approaches to Analyzing Insurgency 6-2 – Terrorism Versus Insurgency 6-6 – The Nature of Insurgency 6-7 – Elements Common to all Insurgencies 6-9 – The Principles of Insurgent Warfare 6-16 – Insurgency in the Middle East 6-18 • Government Response: An Overview of Counter Insurgency 6-19 – The Evolution of Counter Insurgency Strategy 6-20 – The Three Types of Counter Insurgency Strategies/Responses 2-22 – Principles of “Hearts and Minds” Counter Insurgency Strategy 6-24 • The Need for Operational Tools in Counter Insurgency 6-34 • “The Object Beyond War”: Counter Insurgency and the Four Tools of Political Competition 6-34 – Coercive Force 6-36 – Ideology 6-42 – Economic Incentive and Disincentive 6-45 – Traditional Authority 6-48 CHAPTER SEVEN – A. Emerging Insights on Influencing the Tribes of al-Anbar 7A-1 • Implement as Part of an Integrated Strategy 7A-3 • Ensure an In-Depth Understanding of Iraqi and Tribal Culture 7A-4 • Identify Tribes and Tribal Interests 7A-7 • Leverage Traditional Authority 7A-8 • Use a Compelling Ideology 7A-12 • Use Appropriate Coercive Force 7A-16 • Use Economic Incentives and Disincentives 7A-18 • Explore the Use of Non-Iraqi Tribal Intermediaries 7A-19 • Understand Insurgent Use of Tribes 7A-19 • Avoid key pitfalls in Dealing with Tribes 7A-20 • Learn from Previous Coalition Efforts to Influence Iraqi Tribes 7A-22 TC -4 Iraq Tribal Study Table of Contents CHAPTER SEVEN – B. Example Application: Influencing the Three Target Tribes 7B-1 • How to Persuade the Tribes to Stop Supporting Insurgency 7B-1 • How to Persuade the Tribes to Support the Coalition 7B-2 • Albu Fahd 7B-2 • Albu Mahal 7B-8 • Albu Issa 7B-14 • Observations on the Impact of the Death of Zarqawi 7B-19 Appendices. Appendix 1. How to Work and Live with Tribesmen Appendix 2. An Operational View of Islam Appendix 3. HUMINT in Counter Insurgency Tribal Map of Iraq Bibliography. Classified Annexes. (Distributed Separately) TC -5 Iraq Tribal Study Table of Contents This Page Intentionally Left Blank TC -6 Iraq Tribal Study Executive Summary EXECUTIVE SUMMARY • The three target tribes of the study, the Albu Fahd, Albu Mahal, and Albu Issa, are all affiliated with the large Dulaym Tribal Confederation in al-Anbar Governorate, but they are not very high in the overall tribal hierarchy. In fact, the three tribes are relatively small in comparison with the dozens of tribes, clans, houses and families that exist in al-Anbar. However, the three tribes are currently important because they have presence and influence in the three key areas of insurgent activity in al-Anbar: – The Albu Fahd Tribe is located in al-Ramadi – The Albu Mahal Tribe is located in al-Qaim – The Albu Issa Tribe is located in Falluja • Tribes are perhaps the oldest, most enduring and controversial social entities in the Middle East. From centralizing polities in the agrarian age, down to the era of industrialism and nation-states, tribes have sustained never-ending change, acting in and reacting to changing political, military, economic, and at times even topographical environments. • Iraq’s tribes and their tribal shaikhs provide a major resource through which the Coalition can influence portions of Iraq’s population. They have been used successfully by Coalition forces as channels of influence, particularly in rural areas. The limits of their power must, however, also be understood if the Coalition is to make best use of limited resources. • In order to understand the tribes of al-Anbar Governorate, it is necessary to first understand the underlying identity characteristics of the people who are members of those tribes: Iraqi Sunni Arabs. Sunni Arab identity is based on ethnicity and language, religion, tribal roots and membership, and historical experience. Sunni Arabs feel that they are part of a community that shares a set of similar characteristics, values, and experiences. • The key components of Iraqi Sunni Arab identity are: – Arab Culture/Arabism – Islam – The Bedouin Tribal Ideal and Culture ES - 1 Iraq Tribal Study Executive Summary • The picture of Sunni Arab identity in Iraq that emerges from the interaction of the Arab, Islamic, and Bedouin Tribal components of that of identity is quite complex and is critical to understanding Iraqi Sunni Arab culture, which, in turn, is crucial to successful interaction with people and tribes of Iraq. • Sunni Arabs are proud of their religious and political history. They tend to regard themselves as the descendents and heirs to a long and great history of intellectual development, wealth, and political rule over the massive Islamic empire. In addition, tribes have played a central role in the history of Iraq for thousands of years, and continue to do so today.