Dealing with tribal systems has posed a continuing challenge to Al-Qaida as it operates in the Middle East and Africa, where a tribal environment is still an integral part of society in many of the countries. How Al-Qaida views and manages the tribal system within its individual areas of operation in many cases can mean the difference between success and failure, and the jihadist movement cannot ignore this issue, which has been a major factor affecting its prospects, especially in Iraq. This study examines Al-Qaida's experience dealing with the tribes in Iraq in terms of a triangular relationship involving the Sunni tribes, Al-Qaida, and the government (or the United States as the governing authority in the initial stages), with latter two entities often competing for the allegiance of the tribes.

Norman Cigar is director of regional studies and a Minerva Research Chair holder at the Marine Corps University, Quantico, Virginia. Before retiring, he was on the staff of the Marine Corps Command and Staff College and the Marine Corps School of Advanced Warfighting, where he taught military theory, strategy and policy, military history, and regional studies. Previously, he was a senior political military analyst in the Pentagon, where he was responsible for the Middle East in the Office of the Army's Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence and supported the Secretary of the Army, the Chief of Staff of the Army, and Congress with intelligence. He also represented the Army on national-level intelligence issues with the interagency intelligence community. During the Gulf War, he was the Army's senior political-military intelligence staff officer on the Desert Shield/Desert Storm Task Force. He is the author of numerous works on politics and security issues dealing with the Middle East and the Balkans, and has been a consultant at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at the Hague. He has also taught at the National Defense Intelligence College; was a visiting fellow at the Institute for Conflict Analysis & Resolution, George Mason University; and was a senior associate with the Public International Law and Policy Group. He is now focusing on the strategic and military aspects of radical Islamic movements and on proliferation issues. Dr. Cigar holds a D.Phil. from Oxford (St. Antony's College) in Middle East History and Arabic; a Master of International Affairs degree from the School of International and Public Affairs, and a Certificate from the Middle East Institute, Columbia University; and a Master of Science of Strategic Intelligence degree from the National Defense Intelligence College. He has studied and traveled widely in the Middle East.