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The ousted commander of the Iraqi Army’s Fifth Division, based in Diyala province, now faces court proceedings on accusations of corruption and collaboration with militants.
Brig. Gen. Shakir Hulail Hussein al-Kaabi, was relieved of his command last week and a replacement appointed shortly thereafter.
Gen. Shakir was chosen by Baghdad in summer 2006 to command the division in Diyala as it was handed over by Coalition forces to partial Iraqi control, with the intention of full transfer of operational control in the following months.
However, the New York Times reported in November 2006 that US commanders in the area had declined to transfer full military control to the Fifth Division, suspecting that Gen. Shakir was pursuing a sectarian agenda in the province, directing his operations against Sunni tribal and political leadership, and shielding Shi'a death squads who were committing sectarian violence against Diyala Province’s Sunni inhabitants.
Diyala is a mixed province northeast of Baghdad. Its inhabitants include Sunni and Shi'a Arabs as well as a Kurdish population. The majority of soldiers in the forces are Shi'a recruits, the Times reported.
Speaking to the Times, Gen. Shakir denied accusations that his forces were targeting Sunni Arabs unfairly, and said in November that he had no awareness of death squads in the province.
Maj. Gen. Benjamin Mixon, commander of the US 25th Infantry Division told the Times: ''He's either failing to supervise closely enough to know what's going on, or he's directly involved in it. One or the other. There can't be any in between.''
Although Diyala Province – in November and today – is a stronghold of al-Qa'ida-linked groups that target Iraqi Shi'a, US forces were alarmed that the Iraqi Army commander might be targeting Sunni leaders and civilians in response, participating in the sectarian violence rather than curtailing it.
US officials even reversed a July 3, 2006 agreement to transfer “lead” command to the Iraqi Fifth Division in Diyala, instead requiring the Fifth to clear all operations with the US military.
''The U.S. Army is past the point where we say, 'Fire this guy,' '' US Col. Brian Jones told the Times as he completed a year-long stint as US commander in Diyala. ''All we can say is, 'Hey, this guy is bad. Iraqi government, what are you going to do about it?' '
In spite of US forces’ reservation, Gen. Shakir was promoted by Baghdad, the Times reported.
Gen. Shakir became a notorious figure among Iraqi Sunni Arabs. In fact, the Times article describing US forces’ suspicious of the general was widely distributed in Arabic translation among major Iraqi websites that broadly represent the viewpoints and grievances of the Iraqi Sunni Arab community.
Apparently, US officials’ calls for Gen. Shakir’s dismissal were heeded in Baghdad.
Last week, Aswat al-Iraq reported in Arabic that Gen. Shakir was sacked, quoting a source in the Iraqi security forces that the “commander of the Iraqi Army in Diyala was relieved of his post on Friday.” While the source did not name Shakir explicitly, it said that the sacked commander was accused of “administrative corruption and cooperation with militants,” and that the decision to disqualify him was made by the Iraqi judiciary.
Aswat al-Iraq also reported that the officer would appear before the Iraqi judiciary after the completion of legal proceedings.
Further details of the dismissal were not available.
Staff Brig. Gen. Abd al-Husayn al-Tamimi was quickly appointed as the new commander of the Iraqi Fifth Division has been appointed.
According to a press statement of the Multinational Forces, Brig. Gen. al-Tamimi participated recently in a meeting of 45 tribal leaders in Diyala province, along with Ra’ad Hamid al-Mula Jawad al-Tamimi, the provincial governor, Staff Maj. General Ghanim 'Abbas Ibrahim al-Qureishi, the director of police in the province.
US commanders Brig. Gen. Mick Bednarek, MNF-North operations officer, and Col. David Sutherland, coalition commander in Diyala, also attended the meeting, along with Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani’s representative in the province, according to the communique.
