By Col. W. Patrick Lang (Ret.)
"The offensive in Tal Afar is especially delicate because of the tangle of ethnic sensitivities in the region.
About 90 percent of the city’s population — most of which fled to the countryside before the fighting began — is Sunni Turkmen, who have complained about their treatment from the Shiite-dominated government and police force put in place after the U.S. invasion in 2003.
Addressing that complaint, Interior Minister Bayan Jabr announced Saturday that another 1,000 police officers would be hired in Tal Afar after the offensive, and they would be chosen from the Turkmen population.
The Turkmen have a vocal ally in their Turkish brethren to the north, where Turkey’s government is a vital U.S. ally and has fought against its own Kurdish insurgency for decades. Tal Afar is next to land controlled by Iraqi Kurds.
Turkey voiced disapproval of U.S. tactics when American forces ran insurgents out of Tal Afar a year ago. The Turkmen residents complained that Iraqi Kurds were fighting alongside the Americans.
U.S. and Kurdish officials denied the allegation, but the Turkish government threatened to stop cooperating with the Americans. The siege was lifted the next day and insurgents began returning when the Americans quickly pulled out, leaving behind only a skeleton force of 500 soldiers.
For those reasons, U.S. forces have stood back during the new sweep through Tal Afar, allowing Iraqi forces to break down doors in the search for insurgents." Yahoo News
All right… Now, how many of the 5000 Iraqi troops in this operation are Turkmen? How many do you suppose are former Kurdish Pesh Merga militia recruited from among the ancestral enemies of the Turkmen? How many are Shia Arabs who used to belong to SCIRI and Dawa Party militias?
We generally don’t have a clue in dealing with ethnic issues, mush less regional issues. When I was stationed in Saudi Arabia, as Defense Attache in the embassy, I used to go to the field to observe exercises of the Saudi National Guard. This is an all Beduin force separate from the Saudi Army. Why did I do that? It was my job to keep track of the state of training of all Saudi forces.
On one of these trips, I noticed a Lieutenant in a motorized full time unit (second tier) who looked different. In talking to him it became clear that by his accent he was something different. I asked him what tribe he was from. He said "Beni Sakhr." This was interesting because this is a tribe in Jordan.
"Yes," he said. "I am a Jordanian Army officer seconded to the Saudi Guard."
"Do they know that?" I asked him of the Americans conducting the exercise.
"No," he said with a laugh. "They never asked in the month we have been together. They think they are teaching me something. I am a Sandhurst graduate."
We often don’t understand what we are dealing with.
Source: A.P./Yahoo News
Personal Blog: Sic Semper Tyrannis 2005 || Bio || CV
Recommended Books || <a href="More BoomanTrib Stories
.
Since the acrimonious exchange of words in July 2003 following the arrest and imprisonment of 11 Turkish commandos in Kurdish Iraq, for which Washington expressed “regret”; differences erupted publicly this week between NATO allies Turkey and the US over attacks on Turkey’s ethnic cousins, the Turkmens in northern Iraq.
Talking to a Turkish TV channel, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul warned that if the US did not cease its attacks on Tal Afar, a Turkmen city at the junction of Turkey, Iraq and Syria, Ankara might withdraw its support to the US in Iraq.
Turkey is a key US ally in a largely hostile region. US forces use its Incirlik military base near northern Iraq. Turkish firms are also involved heavily in the construction and transport business in Iraq, with hundreds of Turkish vehicles bringing in goods for the US military every day.
Despite negative signals on Ankara’s mission to join the European Union, Turkey is moving away from the US and closer to the EU – it is even looking to buy Airbuses, and arms, from Europe rather than the US.
At the same time, Turkey is drawing closer to Syria, normalizing relations with Iran and improving economic relations with Russia, as well as discuss with Moscow ways to counter terrorist acts, from which both Russia and Turkey suffer. Russian President Vladimir Putin called off a visit to Turkey when the hostage crisis broke at Beslan in the Russian Caucasus last week.
And Turkey has also moved away from long-time friend Israel, the US’s umbilically aligned strategic partner in the Middle East. Turkey has accused Israel of “state terrorism” against Palestinians. A recent ruling party team from Turkey returned from Tel Aviv not satisfied with Israeli explanations over charges that it was interfering in northern Iraqi affairs.
▼ ▼ ▼
Pat, do you think that the Iraqis can form a military that takes into account, understands and appreciates its different, strongly allied tribes?
I ask my rather ignorant, but curious, question because of what you write here: “This is an all Beduin force separate from the Saudi Army. “
Was this force created out of the understanding by the Saudis that such a cohesive tribal force would operate much better than a mixed-tribe group?
I can believe you were the only American astute enough to ask the Jordanian where he came from … but what was he doing overseeing the Beduin force? (Or was he too just observing?)