United States Institute of Peace - Examples of USIP Work - Convened Tribes in Iraq

Convened Tribes in Iraq

In Iraq in 2007, USIP helped broker the initial peace agreement that is seen as the turning point in the war there. USIP experts were asked to assist the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division in the reconciliation effort in Mahmoudiya, located in what was known as “the Triangle of Death” in Iraq’s western Anbar Province. USIP was seen as a neutral player that was able to convene Sunni tribal leaders, Iraq’s Shiite government leaders, and senior members of the U.S. military. Soon after the meeting, attacks and casualties declined significantly. The agreement led to a reduction of the U.S. military presence there from a brigade-level unit of about 3,500 soldiers to a battalion-level unit of about 650. Gen. David Petraeus, the senior commander in Iraq, noted that the turnabout was “striking.” Petraeus also said that USIP “is a great asset in developing stronger unity of effort between civilian and military elements of government.”