Iraqi officials critical of tribal pacts

TAJI, Iraq, July 29 (UPI) -- Paying Sunni tribes to help with security is driving insurgents from some areas of Iraq, said the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David H. Petraeus.

The U.S. military is recruiting residents to set up local protection forces, authorizing officers to use emergency cash to contract with tribal leaders, The Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.

Petraeus praised the efforts of Sunni tribal leaders Saturday as he toured citrus plantations, fish farms and palm groves near Taji, about 12 miles north of Baghdad.

But officials within the Iraqi Shiite-led government call the tribal protection the seeds for more civil war.

"They solve one problem by creating another," said Sami Askari, an aide to Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, who is under intense U.S. pressure to dismantle Shiite militias.

The Sunni volunteers should be screened before they are allowed to carry weapons and should be incorporated into security forces under the government's control, Askari said.