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| Bush and Sheikh Sattar Abu Risha |
Grim news just breaking. This is the man I mentioned on
Sunday, who has now been assassinated. More via Marc Lynch:
I was in the middle of putting the finishing touches on an short piece about Iraqi Sunni politics due out later today when I got an urgent flash that Abd al-Sattar Abu Risha had been murdered in Anbar. Nothing could have been more predictable than the murder of Abu Risha, the man most closely identified with America’s Anbar strategy. He was the public face of the turn against al-Qaeda, and Petraeus immediately said that “it shows Al Qaeda in Iraq remains a very dangerous and barbaric enemy.” But there’s no reason to assume that al-Qaeda killed him – I’d guess that one of the nationalist insurgency groups, the ones which current American rhetoric pretends don’t exist – is a more likely suspect. Other tribes deeply resented him. The major nationalist insurgency groups had recently issued a series of statements denouncing people who would illegitimately seize the fruits of their victorious jihad – of whom he was the prime example. All those photographs which swamped the Arab media showing him shaking hands with President Bush made him even more a marked man than before. … (read more)
It’s yet another loss for our efforts and there can be little doubt
it will send a chill through our friends in Iraq.
Iraqi tribal leader Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, a key figure in U.S. efforts
to turn local residents against al-Qaeda in the restive Anbar province, was
killed today by a roadside bomb, U.S. military and Iraqi sources confirmed.Abu Risha was a leading member of the Anbar Salvation Council and worked
closely with U.S. officials — a fact that made him a target of insurgents
angry about his cooperation with the United States and his ability to convince
other tribal sheiks to follow him.(snip)
“This is a tragic loss,” Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the U.S.
commander in Iraq, said of Abu Risha’s death. “It’s a terrible loss for
Anbar province and all of Iraq. It shows how significant his importance was
and it shows al-Qaeda in Iraq remains a very dangerous and barbaric enemy.”Along with reaffirming the ability of insurgents to operate in Anbar, Abu
Risha’s assassination could raise questions about the future of the tribal
coalition that had pulled together to quell al-Qaeda influence. … ..
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