Everyman, at least every family, was the judge and avenger of his own cause...the interest and principle of the bloody debt are accumulated; the individuals of either family lead a life of malice and suspicion, and fifty years may sometime elapse before account of the vengeance be finally settled.

But that is the most base understanding of the blood debt.

In Iraq and Afghanistan tribal leaders often negotiate the blood debt to a cash or property settlement.  The family and tribe of the deceased agree to not seek blood if they are compensated.

Just yesterday I witnessed a highly formalized negotiation about the blood debt by the nascent Tribal Union in Dujayl, Iraq.

Dujayl Tribal Union meeting in a school auditorium

The goal of the Tribal Union is to unify the tribes in this agrarian community so to have a unified voice before the civil government.

To do that, the any disputes need to be resolved quikcly and equitably.  The leadership of the Union is proposing standardized procedures to resolve grievances.

Meeting a school auditorium and sitting on plastic chairs, more than 100 Sheiks took part in the open meeting of the Union.

The Tribal Union is a relatively new creation in Dujayl.  In the early years of the war, US forces went looking for anyone and everyone who would cooperate with them.

In Dujayl a man who spoke English was the first to shake the hand of US forces.  He said the right things and put on a good act.  But he was not a real Sheik and had no real influence.

He did make a lot of money off the US though.

During the Surge and after, it became obvious that the Sheiks Council of Dujayl was populated by scoundrels.  The US officers began to follow the tribal roots back to the real Sheiks.  The fake Sheiks fled, the Council was dissolved and the Tribal Union formed.

US Army CPT Justin Daubert sits on the stage during the meetings, as a representative of the strongest and richest tribe in Dujayl, but does not take an active role in the open meetings.

CPT Daubert does his work behind the scenes with key leaders to steer them through the bureaucracy and encouraging the Sheiks to keep working on unification.

After a prolonged session of hand-shakes and kisses on the cheeks, the Sheiks took their seats and got down to business.

The first issue to be tackled--the blood debt.

A motion was put forward that if a member of one tribe kills the member of another tribe, the standard, the killer or his tribe or family should pay the victim's family 20 million dinar--about $20,000 US dollars.

Many of the Sheiks seemed to think the number was fair.  There were proposals for a higher payment, up to 50 million dinar or for a sliding scale is the killer's family was poor.

The main topic of debate was who and how the case would be judged.

A room full Sheiks

Proposals were made on how Sheiks would be selected to ensure they would be impartial, who could represent the accused and the deceased and the mechanism to ensure that once a judgment was issued it was carried out.

All these matters were discussed in the presence of the Mayor of Dujayl, the Chief of Police and two members of the City Council.  The Mayor even took part in the deliberations.

How the law of the government would interface with tribal law was barely touched on.

People are arrested, prosecuted and convicted for murder in Iraq.  The blood debt is tribal version of a wrongful death suit that also prevents inter-tribal violence.

After the usual rounds of passionate sounding debate the issue was tabled and at some point in the future a committee will prepare proposals for the Union to vote on.

The next item taken up by the Union was all the bad drivers the need for traffic laws in Dujil.

All agreed that the young kids drive like maniacs and something needs to be done about it.  When an Iraqi says you drive like maniac--you are truly a hazard to everything on the road.

The meeting adjourned, hands were shook, cheeks were kissed, the US Army officers were pressed by the Sheiks for more development projects.

The Tribal Union fills a gap between the rural population and the civil government providing some type of representation and voice.

In the upcoming elections, tribal groups could be the deciding factor whether there is a strong unity slate elected from Sala Ad Din or if they will continue to take their local arguments with them to Baghdad.

Once the US Army leaves, the tribes will become stronger.  Tribal groups that are organized will be in position to negotiate directly with Baghdad and the provincial government.

The long term goal of the Union is to become the equivalent of a powerful lobbying group and voting block.  Together, the tribes represent a lot of voters who could punish or reward politicians.

The success of the Union will be based on its cohesion and ability to deliver votes.

If the open list is used in the upcoming elections, then the single non-transferrable vote system will be in place.  The groups that can turn out the most votes in the most organized fashion will be the ones to hold power in Iraq.  The Union is on track to do that.  But first it has to resolve all the tribal disputes and standardize the payment of blood debts.

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