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U.S. paying tribal chiefs for security despite ban
07/06/2011 16:22
Erbil, June 7 (AKnews) – Tribal leaders in Iraq are receiving $10,000 a month each from the U.S. in an underhand move to pay for security services.
Officially the ten chiefs are receiving the payments to provide services clearing litter from the sides of a 160-mile road through the dessert.
But the highway being cleared is the one that will be used by U.S. troops as they withdraw from Iraq later this year, and the people employed from the tribes are really looking for improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
An agreement signed by Iraq and the U.S. bans the Americans from paying tribal leaders to provide security.
The Sheiks each hire 35 men who will police the road and act as informants.
Quoted in the New York Times, Col. Douglas Crissman, head of the U.S. forces in southern Iraq, said: "I can't possibly be all places at one time.
"There are real incentives for them to keep the highway safe. Those sheiks we have the best relationships with and have kept their highways clear and safe will be the most likely ones to get renewed for the remainder of the year.
"Given the amount of money we have spent in this country, $100,000 to secure our highway a month is a small price to pay, especially given the importance of the highway to the withdrawal."
07/06/2011 16:22
Erbil, June 7 (AKnews) – Tribal leaders in Iraq are receiving $10,000 a month each from the U.S. in an underhand move to pay for security services.
Officially the ten chiefs are receiving the payments to provide services clearing litter from the sides of a 160-mile road through the dessert.
But the highway being cleared is the one that will be used by U.S. troops as they withdraw from Iraq later this year, and the people employed from the tribes are really looking for improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
An agreement signed by Iraq and the U.S. bans the Americans from paying tribal leaders to provide security.
The Sheiks each hire 35 men who will police the road and act as informants.
Quoted in the New York Times, Col. Douglas Crissman, head of the U.S. forces in southern Iraq, said: "I can't possibly be all places at one time.
"There are real incentives for them to keep the highway safe. Those sheiks we have the best relationships with and have kept their highways clear and safe will be the most likely ones to get renewed for the remainder of the year.
"Given the amount of money we have spent in this country, $100,000 to secure our highway a month is a small price to pay, especially given the importance of the highway to the withdrawal."
