Bomb Kills Top U.S.-Backed Sunni Sheik
The most prominent figure in a revolt of Sunni sheiks against al Qaeda in Iraq was killed Thursday in an explosion near his home in Anbar province.
Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha was leader of the Anbar Salvation Council, also known as the Anbar Awakening - an alliance of clans backing the Iraqi government and U.S. forces.
CBS News chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan reports that when Abu Risha chose America to be his ally against al Qaeda, he became a marked man.
Motivated by the murder of his own family members, he took on al Qaeda in the most public way - using a TV commercial to recruit Sunnis for a police force in Anbar that until then, no one would join.
As the region's security improved, he flaunted his elevated status with everyone from Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to GOP presidential hopeful John McCain.
And just 10 days ago, he publicly celebrated with President Bush - the relationship applauded as a model for defeating terrorism.
With the U.S. success in Anbar province showcased in Washington this week, it's hardly surprising that America's enemies would strike back. The question is what impact that will have on U.S. efforts to build similar relationships with the Sunni populations in other parts of Iraq.
Today in Ameriyah, Logan saw first-hand how the same model has turned one of Baghdad's most violent Sunni neighborhoods into a much more peaceful place. Fourteen soldiers were killed in Ameriyah during a recent one-month period. They've gone from that to not having a single attack in the last month, thanks largely to another influential Sunni Sheikh, Khaled al Obeidi - also from Anbar province.
U.S. soldiers mix easily with his gunmen - former insurgents the army now calls "volunteers."
Together they say they've driven al Qaeda from most of Ameriyah, much the same way Sheikh Sattar helped drive them Anbar. When news of today's assasination broke, Sheik al Obeidi said this would not stop him and blamed those working on behalf of Iran.
"They sabotage any project that unites Sunnis and makes them powerful," he said.
If the U.S. can't protect its new-found allies, they risk losing everything they've gained.
In Washington, meahile, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said U.S. forces provideed personal security for Abu Risha -- at one point even parking an M-1 tank outside his house. While U.S forces did train his security detail, Whitman said he currently was being protected by his own people.
A Ramadi police officer said Abu Risha had received a group of poor people at his home earlier in the day, as a gesture of charity marking the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The officer, speaking on condition of anonymity out of security concerns, said authorities believed the bomb was planted by one of the guests.
A senior member of Abu Risha's group, Sheik Jubeir Rashid, called the assassination a "criminal act" and blamed al Qaeda.
It was not the first time Abu Risha and his colleagues have been targeted.
In June, a suicide bomber blew himself up in the lobby of Baghdad's Mansour Hotel during a meeting of U.S.-linked Sunni tribal leaders, killing 13 people and wounding 27.
Among those killed was the former governor of Anbar and sheik of the al-Bu Nimir tribe, Fassal al-Guood - a key ally of Abu Risha. A day later, al Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack.
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha was leader of the Anbar Salvation Council, also known as the Anbar Awakening - an alliance of clans backing the Iraqi government and U.S. forces.
CBS News chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan reports that when Abu Risha chose America to be his ally against al Qaeda, he became a marked man.
Motivated by the murder of his own family members, he took on al Qaeda in the most public way - using a TV commercial to recruit Sunnis for a police force in Anbar that until then, no one would join.
As the region's security improved, he flaunted his elevated status with everyone from Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to GOP presidential hopeful John McCain.
And just 10 days ago, he publicly celebrated with President Bush - the relationship applauded as a model for defeating terrorism.
With the U.S. success in Anbar province showcased in Washington this week, it's hardly surprising that America's enemies would strike back. The question is what impact that will have on U.S. efforts to build similar relationships with the Sunni populations in other parts of Iraq.
Today in Ameriyah, Logan saw first-hand how the same model has turned one of Baghdad's most violent Sunni neighborhoods into a much more peaceful place. Fourteen soldiers were killed in Ameriyah during a recent one-month period. They've gone from that to not having a single attack in the last month, thanks largely to another influential Sunni Sheikh, Khaled al Obeidi - also from Anbar province.
U.S. soldiers mix easily with his gunmen - former insurgents the army now calls "volunteers."
Together they say they've driven al Qaeda from most of Ameriyah, much the same way Sheikh Sattar helped drive them Anbar. When news of today's assasination broke, Sheik al Obeidi said this would not stop him and blamed those working on behalf of Iran.
"They sabotage any project that unites Sunnis and makes them powerful," he said.
If the U.S. can't protect its new-found allies, they risk losing everything they've gained.
In Washington, meahile, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said U.S. forces provideed personal security for Abu Risha -- at one point even parking an M-1 tank outside his house. While U.S forces did train his security detail, Whitman said he currently was being protected by his own people.
A Ramadi police officer said Abu Risha had received a group of poor people at his home earlier in the day, as a gesture of charity marking the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The officer, speaking on condition of anonymity out of security concerns, said authorities believed the bomb was planted by one of the guests.
A senior member of Abu Risha's group, Sheik Jubeir Rashid, called the assassination a "criminal act" and blamed al Qaeda.
It was not the first time Abu Risha and his colleagues have been targeted.
In June, a suicide bomber blew himself up in the lobby of Baghdad's Mansour Hotel during a meeting of U.S.-linked Sunni tribal leaders, killing 13 people and wounding 27.
Among those killed was the former governor of Anbar and sheik of the al-Bu Nimir tribe, Fassal al-Guood - a key ally of Abu Risha. A day later, al Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack.
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Now, let''s hear it one more time, with more vim and vinegar.
35% of americans support bush.
you can be sure that that 35% is all found south of the mason dixon line.
rednecks, christian creeps, uneducated southern republican snakes...
oh well, that''''s the south for you, folks!
Posted by Nancy_Naive
This is a comment I would expect from a liberal. No content, just name-calling. Congrats, Nancy, you are a credit to your party.
Posted by newster1
LoL
So you knew him? Did he like Chocolate? How many kids does he have? Did he fish?
tell the truth, you have no clue what the guy was about
you just run your mouth so you can look important
it didnt work, you just another salivatating bush hater, you dont have anything worth saying
really, you dont!!
Allow me to interject:
If you consider the loss of human life on the basis of lies trivial, then you would do well in Bush''s cabinet. Bush lied. There should be no "war" zone there.
Why would it matter that the Kurds signed an oil contract with the Hunt family? Posted by speakinup
It matters because the US allows Turkey to invade northern Iraq to destroy what is left of the Kurds, and signing a contract with a party that is not recognized as a sovereign state is pure BS, the Kurds cannot give what they don''t own.
"Why are the lefties so worried about Bush ?" Posted by speakinup
Because our children, and innocent Iraqis are dying as we post, because of his lies.
Another Bush azzwipe poodle bites the bigone!!!
stay the course!! stay the course!! lets get ALL of the US backed PUPPET-azzwipe-poodles in the Iraq Govt blown up one by one.
He was nothing more than a Bush Puppet on a string.
Yeah - I do. Can we help it if Pelousy is too stupid to be effective?
Do you remember how Hillary was going to give us a national medical plan?
Do you remember Hillary doing anything of value for this country ?
Do you know why hillary got her senate job, after he husband pardoned half the drug barrons and Peruto Ricans in jail ?
Do you know how screwed up ibsteve2u is ?
Do you know Hillary is playing hard left right now, and will switch to ''''moderate'''' as soon as she gets the nomination and money from soros ?
Is it any wonder we want a president that will stay the course instead of saying what is politically expedient for the next 15 minutes ?
Posted by speakinup at 07:34 PM : Sep 13, 2007
Lemmings stay the course too, and they follow each other over a cliff. Wise up, speakinup, your in the minority, brainwashed and lobotomized by what you here on the %u201CFar right balanced Faux News%u201D.
Posted by ibsteve2u at 07:37 PM : Sep 13, 2007
Yeah!! I am having a rough time figuring out when to throw the dice.
"Very good. That really paints a picture. Posted by FeelFree1
Not terribly original, but true, it is simple enough for freefeel to get a mental image (and THAT is a challenge in less that 1500 characters)
"You''re too boring to banter with, speakinup. I have no difficulty in predicting what you''ll say before you say it. Posted by ibsteve2u
Interpretation:
"oh she-it, how do I get out of my lies and explaining my screwed up opinions. A person with brains is challenging me for proof, reason, relevancy, and other embarrassing questions. Dang! What would Hillary and bill do ?
"I KNOW, feign stupidity, uh, boredom.
WEll next time you go flappin your finger tips across the keys, stevie, remember people are holding you accountable.
ibsteve2u,
Re: "You must be hard to play chess with, speakinup. Your constantly putting checkers on the board must confuse the heck out of people."
Very good. That really paints a picture.