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Iraqi leader backs arming Sunni tribes to fight insurgents

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, citing a "misunderstanding" of an earlier remark, insisted yesterday that he supports the US tactic of arming Sunni Arab tribes to battle insurgents in Iraq.

"The prime minister was the initiator of the policy of aiding the Iraqi tribes in all the cities and regions, especially those which have seen terrorist and outlaw activities," a statement from his office said.

In comments published last week by Newsweek magazine, Maliki warned that the new US tactic was "dangerous because this will create new militias."

"I believe that the coalition forces do not know the backgrounds of the tribes. It is a job of the [Iraqi] government," he said.

In the statement, Maliki's office said there was a "misunderstanding of the prime minister's prior statement."

"The government does not fear the arming of tribes but fears the chaos and disorder and the appearance of new militias. It is essential that all of these activities are under Iraqi control and done with government supervision," the office said.

"The government refuses to deploy these kinds of projects in a context that pits Sunni tribes against Shiite tribes," it said.

US commanders have expressed similar reservations about providing arms to groups that have, until recently, been fighting US and Iraqi forces.

Last Sunday coalition commander General David Petraeus said there were "legitimate concerns" about the US tactic in Iraq of arming Sunni insurgents against al-Qaeda extremists.

In an interview with US network Fox News he said that US military commanders were vetting their new local allies "as best we can" through compiling biometric data and keeping track of weapons' serial numbers."

"The fact is that over time in any of these conflicts, individuals at some point have had to end up sitting across the table from those who at best tacitly were aware of what was going on against their adversary and perhaps aided and abetted it," Petraeus said.
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