Iraq: Tribes Ready for War
5 minutes, 2003
Ref: 324

The Mashada tribe is ready for war. They've been training for months now in their traditional home, half an hour’s drive north of Baghdad. The government’s distributed weapons to Iraq’s most loyal clan and tribal leaders - in return, they're expected to defend the nation and the President. The allegiance of Sheikh Faisal Ibrahim al Mashadani is clear. He's even ordered the boys to forget school for the moment and learn to handle a rifle instead. The loyalty of the sheikhs is one of Saddam Hussein's most important weapons. Not because they can beat back the American soldiers with their high tech equipment, but because if they turn against the President, the whole system will collapse. The President is frequently seen receiving sheikhs. He needs them. So do the Americans - Iraq is rife with rumours of Special Force operatives with suitcases of dollars trying to buy the loyalty of tribal leaders as they bought warlords in Afghanistan last year.