To defeat ISIS in Iraq, the support of the Sunni tribes is essential. The Sunni tribes felt disenfranchised and, therefore, over the last several years they have protested and struggled against Shi’a-led groups and leadership they believed were favored over them politically and economically by the government of former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. This internal schism was the distraction ISIS needed to gain a foothold in Iraq, leading eventually to its occupation of vast amounts of territory there and in Syria this past summer.
Initially, many Sunni tribal groups welcomed and joined ISIS as a counter-force to Maliki, similar to the way many Sunni tribesmen joined Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) during the initial years of the 2003 Iraq War. ISIS offered hope for betterment in some segments of Sunni society. However, just as the tolerant and/or collaborative Sunni groups formed “Sunni Awakening” groups to fight AQI in 2005-06, as they have realized it is a tyrannical and repressive group, similar groups are already forming in Iraq today. These newly forming or re-forming tribal groups realize the ultimate goals of ISIS are not compatible with Sunni goals, or perhaps more importantly, are in opposition to traditional tribal roles. This creates an opportunity for the U.S. and the anti-ISIS coalition to help change the character of fight on the ground in Iraq, much as it did during my time there in 2005/6.
As right as it is to say the support of the Sunni tribes is essential in the fight against ISIS, it is equally important to highlight the role of individual tribes within that movement. Sunni’s are not one homogeneous block. No group in any society is. The Sunni are broken down into tribal components based on lineage and location, each of which have diverse needs and wants based on their own circumstances. The Sunni of Anbar have lived in a primarily Sunni region and have a different perspective than the Sunni of Ninawa and elsewhere who have lived in close proximity to Shi’a and Kurds. It is import to distinguish between these tribal groups and their varying levels of support for or opposition to—sometimes both—ISIS.
al-Jubur Awakening
One of the most dominant, cohesive, and consistent Sunni tribes to consider in this battle against ISIS is the Jubur tribe. The Jubur tribe is the largest Arab tribe in Iraq and populates much of the territory of central and northern parts of the country, primarily up and down the Tigris River. The Jubur have strong political and economic influence in the Salah ad Din Governorate in particular. In the area around Bayji, one of the most significant towns of Salah ad Din, the Jubur tribe is the most dominant, constantly vying for power and control over essential services and government with the powerful, yet smaller, Ubayd tribesman.
Today control of the Bayji Oil Refinery is a source of much competition between ISIS, the Jubur, and the Ubayd. Although ISIS has controlled Bayji since June 2014, the oil refinery has not fallen to them because the Iraqi Army and the Jubur tribe cooperate to protect it. The refinery, the largest in Iraq, is essential to the Baghdad government. It has also long been a profitable source of income, through legal and illegal means, for the Jubur. The oil refinery is a tangible example of what the Sunni can and will do to defend their tribal considerations from attack. As the Jubur and Ubayd have shown, they are capable of defending their territory when necessary, especially when supporting the aggressor does not provide them any political or financial incentive or harms their tribal interests. Supporting ISIS has not been very beneficial in Bayji and similar towns that Sunni tribes dominate.
There is a multitude of examples of the tribe resisting the advance of ISIS from the