Anatomy of a Tribal Revolt

This account is a fascinating look inside the culture of tribal society
as it has existed for probably centuries. It describes how their tribal
leaders are trusted above anyone else.
More Iraqis have lined up
with the coalition troops and the government to fight the enemy. The
successes in security have begun from the "bottom-up", rather than from the
national level down. The "surge" against the extremism belongs to the
Iraqis, in their own time, on their own terms. It's like a ladder, to
build on each success, to improve the lives of their community.

To understand what follows, you need to realize that Iraqi tribes are
not somehow separate, out in the desert, or remote: rather, they are
powerful interest groups that permeate Iraqi society. More than 85% of
Iraqis claim some form of tribal affiliation; tribal identity is a
parallel, informal but powerful sphere of influence in the community.
Iraqi tribal leaders represent a competing power center, and the tribes
themselves are a parallel hierarchy that overlaps with formal
government structures and political allegiances. Most Iraqis wear their
tribal selves beside other strands of identity (religious, ethnic,
regional, socio-economic) that interact in complex ways, rendering
meaningless the facile division into Sunni, Shi’a and Kurdish groups
that distant observers sometimes perceive. The reality of Iraqi
national character is much more complex than that, and tribal identity
plays an extremely important part in it, even for urbanized Iraqis.
Thus the tribal revolt is not some remote riot on a reservation: it’s a
major social movement that could significantly influence most Iraqis
where they live.

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