Anbar Handover: Hell Is Other People’s Domestic Politics

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The chairman of the Provincial Council, Abdul Salam al-Ani, a member of the Iraqi Islamic Party, said the delay was needed because Iraqi forces had not yet been able to fully control the province’s borders, which touch Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia. He said the delay should last until after provincial elections, which aren’t expected until the end of the year at the earliest.

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“Iraqi forces are not ready to take over security responsibilities,” he said.

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That comment appeared to be a swipe at the Anbar provincial police chief, Maj. Gen. Tariq al-Youssef, who has the robust support of the Anbar Awakening movement and a strong relationship with American marines in the province.

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Given that nobody trusts anybody else, it might not be a bad idea to delay the handover of so the provincial election results have more credibility on all sides (as long as we also play an active role in trying to prevent this delay from causing yet more trouble by providing an opportunity for the IIP to play its games). If we instead rush the handover to create optics for our domestic political consumption and election cycle, we risk increasing the prospects of violent clashes between the “powers that be” and the “powers that aren’t” in the lead up to, or immediate aftermath of, election cycle.