1、1 Neil MacFarquhar, “Unpredictable force awaits U.S. in Iraq Storied tribes of the Middle EastDevout, armed and nationalistic,” International Herald Tribune, January 7, 2003. p. 2. 2 Ibid.3 “The historical importance of the tribes of Iraq can scarcely be exaggerated. In 1933, a yearafter Iraqi indep
2、endence, it was estimated that there were 100,000 rifles in tribal hands, and15,000 in the possession of the government. The settled village community with its attachmentto the land the backbone of social structure throughout most of the Middle East has been(continued.)Order Code RS22626Updated Apri
3、l 7, 2008Iraq: Tribal Structure, Social, and Political Activities Hussein D. HassanInformation Research SpecialistKnowledge Services GroupSummaryFor centuries the social and political organization of many Iraqi Arabs has centeredon the tribe. Socially, tribes were divided into related sub-tribes, wh
4、ich further dividedinto clans, and then into extended families. Seventy-five percent of Iraqs estimated 26million people are a member of a tribe. They are more strongly bound by these tribalties and a strict honor code than by ethnic background or religion. This report describesthe political orienta
