DAR AL HARB/ISLAM - U.S.A./IRAQ: AMERICA'S EXIT STRATEGY, FOR IRAQ, ARM & TRAIN SUNNI'S

US pits Iraqi Sunnis against al-Qaeda
By Jim Muir

There are growing signs that the US is increasingly turning to a new tactic in facing the Sunni-led insurgency in Iraq.

On Sunday, US military commanders and Iraqi provincial officials held a meeting with 130 Sunni tribal sheikhs in Saddam Hussein's old hometown of Tikrit.

According to the US, the tribal leaders reached a "historic agreement" to play a more active role in defending their troubled province, Salahuddin, against al-Qaeda and other radical insurgent groups.

It is the latest move in what is clearly becoming one of the main thrusts of the US exit strategy here - to empower and arm Sunni Arab tribes and factions, provided they pledge to resist outside militants like al-Qaeda.

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Pertinent Links:

1) US pits Iraqi Sunnis against al-Qaeda