Iraq's "Desert Protection Force"

Iraq's version of the famed Long Range Desert Group of WW 2: During Operation Steel Curtain (5-22 Nov), a brigade-sized Iraqi task force ( 1,200-1,500 men) and several battalions of U.S. troops ( 2,500 troops, mostly marines and supporting naval and army personnel) cleared al Qaeda and Sunni gunmen from the Al Qaim region, in the northwestern part of Al Anbar province... In particular, the new �Desert Protection Force� (DPF), proved of considerable value. Recruited from local Sunni tribes in Al Anbar, DPF personnel are very knowledgeable about the region, and have a great deal of credibility among the local peoples, who are often from the same tribes or clans. During the operation, DPF personnel served as guides and escorts for the more conventional forces, in addition to conducting reconnaissance. Though getting every to work for the common good can be tricky: U.S. intelligence personnel have generally praised the work of the DPF. Nevertheless, they have found working with them a complex task. As one intelligence officer put it, the strong tribal and clan loyalties of the DPF personnel result in situations where �They want to get everyone who�s not their tribe.� http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htworld/articles/20060101.aspx

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