Sunni elders urge cooperation with US

The effort marks a new willingness to cooperate with US forces, a shift in the thinking of at least some key members of Iraq's Sunni Muslim minority, which lost political dominance with the fall of Hussein and has largely formed the most outspoken and violent opposition to the US-led occupation.

Sheik Sabah Mahmoud, leader of the Sada tribe, said he and 10 other tribal elders have formed a reconciliation committee in Tikrit to speak to other Iraqi leaders about trying to persuade rebels to put down weapons. He said he took that message last week to a group of scholars, religious leaders, and other prominent figures meeting in Baghdad.

"It's about time we put our differences aside and looked to the future," Mahmoud said. "I told them: `The reality is, [US forces] are here on the ground; the past is dead. Give the Americans a chance to see what they are going to give us.' "

The committee was formalized Saturday, he said.

"It's just the beginning," Mahmoud added during a meeting in the provincial government building with a US Army commander and seven other spiritual leaders.

The committee is one of the fruits of a forum that has been meeting since the summer. Such gatherings offer a glimpse into deepening ties between US commanders and Sunni leaders in a rebel stronghold, even as attacks continue against coalition forces and those who cooperate with them.

Initially, the Sunnis participating in those sessions did not advocate cooperating with US forces. Early meetings were mainly gripe sessions, their only outlet for protesting to US commanders about arrests, raids, night curfews, and other perceived problems.

Sunnis ruled Iraq for centuries and dominated the country under Hussein's regime, filling high-ranking positions and reaping economic benefits. But they make up only 20 percent of Iraq's 25 million people, concentrated in Baghdad and villages to the north and west. With the US-led occupation trying to install democratic government, the Shi'ite Muslim majority -- long oppressed under Hussein -- is positioning itself to hold sway in Iraq. Sunnis apparently are realizing that they must cooperate with the occupation if they are to have a role in the country's future leadership.

Lieutenant Colonel Steve Russell, who heads the meetings on the American side, welcomed the idea of a formal effort at reconciliation. "It's some good news," he said. The elders responded, "Inshallah," Arabic for "God willing."

Russell also credits tribal leaders with help in recruiting some of the men that US forces are training for the new Iraqi Army. And the sheiks also have helped disperse crowds of angry protesters, he said.

Russell, from the Army's Fourth Infantry Division, said his superiors from Central Command were "somewhat surprised" by reports he brought back of stronger ties with Sunni sheiks, whom he greets with a few words of Arabic and the traditional custom of a kiss on the cheek. "Everyone imagines that Tikrit is such an evil place that nothing will ever happen here," he told the sheiks, drawing laughter.

Russell wants the Sunni leaders to help spread a message of cooperation -- and the tribal leaders seek US concessions in return.

US forces operating in the area of Tikrit and the cities of Kirkuk and Baqubah still are detaining 248 Iraqis suspected of involvement in attacks on coalition troops. Their release tops a list of demands from the sheiks, who now find themselves fighting to save their credibility with their people. "Everybody knows we are meeting with the Americans, and they ask what we did and if we talked about prisoners," said Sheik Mahmoud al-Nada, leader of the powerful Nassari tribe from the village of Uja, Hussein's birthplace, just outside Tikrit. "Our credibility and honor are on the line."

Russell said he was able to release three detainees last week based on information the elders provided him. He promised to check into other cases. But Russell told them bluntly that some would have to stay in custody. To prove his case, he showed the elders photos of weapons seized from one detainee's house -- grenades, assault rifles, and ammunition, some of which had been hidden under a baby's bed.

Also joining the meeting was Brigadier General Abdullah al-Jabouri, the Iraqi provincial chief of military affairs, who said active, visible US involvement in improving the lives of residents will help bring an end to the violent resistance. "People will see that these are not occupation forces," he said. "They'll change their view."