It's the Tribes (merged thread)

[Jedburgh]

This article speaks to several points that have been made in this thread:

Military Review, May-June 2007: The Power Equation: Using Tribal Politics in COIN

....Infantry officer courses and intermediate-level professional military education schools must incorporate courses on negotiating skills into their programs of instruction. Because tribal leaders are often expert negotiators, company commanders must be well prepared to win across the meeting table as well as on the unconventional battlefield. Cultural awareness means more than just being sensitive to a community. It is a component of the intelligence preparation of the battlefield and a capability that can help us achieve our objectives.....

[jcustis]

I went to a Karrass Group (you know that insert in the inflight magazines?)seminar years ago. It was a little goofy, but darn good. It couldn't be all that difficult to get a trainer in and spin up a hundred or so folks at a time.

[Jimbo]

I thought the Schultz book was pretty good.

The issue of tribes vs. religion is that you are dealing with both in Iraq. I guess it is a hybrid of the two.

[tequila]

CSMonitor article focusing on the Anbar Salvation Council and the Bu-Fahed subtribe in Hamdhiyah in particular.