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Chairman Tarik Al-Abdullah
Tarik Al-Abdullah (born April 1, 1959 in Fallujah, Iraq) is Sheikh of the al-Halabsa tribe, Chairman of the Watanee Political Party and a successful Iraqi business entrepreneur. He is married with six children. He has a Masters Degree in Civil Engineering; a Masters Degree in Developing Business & Management and a PhD in Developing Business & Management.

The al-Halabsa tribe is a part of the al-Dulaim confederation of tribes which is one of the largest of all Arab tribes with 1,000 clans with over seven million people. The al-Dulaimis are centered in Iraq, but are also found in Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. In Iraq, the Dulaim tribe numbers over 5 million people and forms the majority of all Sunnis in the country although there are also several Shi’a clans in the tribe. The Dulaim tribe is located primarily in Anbar (western Iraq), although it is present in all Iraq provinces, in particular Babil, Ninewa, Baghdad, Salah ad Din and Diyala. The al-Halabsa tribe, in particular, has a population of 250,000-300,000 people in Iraq and is centered in Anbar, Salah-ad-din and Diyala. The al-Halabsa is also a mixed tribe in that it is composed of Sunni and Shi’a and Arabs and Kurds.

In 2007 as the Iraq War wage across Anbar province in western Iraq, various Sunni tribe leaders grew concerned at the precarious situation. Outside al-Qaeda insurgents had infiltrated the area to not only fight Coalition troops, but to kill and terrorize local innocent Iraqis. Sheikh Tarik, among other Sunni tribe leaders, soon realized that Coalition Forces were only interested eliminating the al-Qaeda threat, but had a difficult time differentiating the terrorists from the local Iraqis. Sheikh Tarik established contact with Coalition Forces to collaborate efforts between local tribal Iraqis and Coalition Forces to combat al-Qaeda. This collaboration grew as the bond between Sunni tribal leaders and Coalition Forces, particularly the U.S. Marine Corps, strengthened and in 2007 led to the joint coordination known as “the Surge” to defeat al-Qaeda in Anbar. This operation was so successful that it was duplicated throughout the rest of Iraq. U.S. Marine Corps Major General John Allen, Jr., Deputy Commander of CENTCOM has recognized Sheikh Tarik’s contributions and has stated that “without his help, the Surge would not have been possible in Fallujah.” In a private dinner, President Clinton personally thanked the Sheikh and said that, “if it was not for his involvement, many more Iraqi and U.S. lives would have been lost and that in all probability Iraq would have disintegrated.”

However his effort to fight these outside insurgents has come at a high personal price. Unfortunately like many other Iraqis, Sheikh Tarik has lost family members to these terrorists. He has lost three brothers, a sister and four nephews. To continue his efforts to combat this terrorism, Sheikh Tarik has been an outspoken advocate on the issue of security and Iraq. He has met with various leaders including King Hussein of Jordan and former President Bill Clinton in addition to several U.S. Senators and Congressmen as well as British Members of Parliament. He has spoken extensively on these issues in various forums including the Center for American Progress, The Henry Jackson Society and the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security. He has also been interviewed by the BCC and Greta Van Susteren’s “On the Record.”

As a natural progression of his desire to protect and defend his country from outside terrorist insurgents and see Iraq prosper once again, Sheikh Tarik founded and is Chairman of the Unification National Iraqi Effort Council which is also known as “Watanee.” Watanee is an expanded framework dedicated to the promotion of a nationally unified, safe and secure and free and independent Iraq. True to its motto, “Many Iraqis…One Iraq,” Watanee is open to Iraqis of all backgrounds. Watanee is composed of a broad coalition of civic-minded citizens from across Iraq. It is an organization where Sunni and Shia and Arab and Kurd who truly desire to rebuild and reunify their country can come and work together for shared solutions. To better participate in the democratic electoral process, Watanee recently registered itself as a political party and will field a slate of candidates in the upcoming national Iraqi elections in January 2010. Sheikh Tarik would like to use his skills as a civil engineer to lay a new solid foundation to rebuild a new prosperous Iraq.

Sheikh Tarik is Chairman and founder of The Al-Dhahir Group, a major independent, multi-million dollar, multinational group of companies with over 28 years of experience, providing reliable, high-quality products and services as well as value-added logistics solutions. Al-Dhahir manages and operates a diversified group of companies in several market segments including: General Trading; Oil Trading & Oil Field Services; Motor Vehicle Trading & Agencies; Engineering Consulting & Contracting; Manufacturing; Security & Personal Services and Airline & Travel Services. The Group offers its services through wholly owned and partner companies in Iraq, UAE, Jordan, South Africa, Cyprus and the UK.

In the area of philanthropy, Sheikh Tarik is a Good Will Ambassador for IIMSAM, the Intergovernmental Institution for the use of Micro-Algae Spirulina Against Malnutrition. Sheikh Tarik has generously allocated four hectares of land for the establishment of the Fallujah Project Center and funds the distribution of spirulina to over 4,000 children in four schools and three children’s hospitals in the Fallujah area of Iraq. Established through two international agreements that are recognized by UN Treaty, IIMSAM is accredited as a Permanent Observer with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

Memberships & Associations

• Chairman of Al-Anbar Central Council
• Member of the High Council of Al-Anbar
• Sheikh of Al-Halabsa Tribes in Iraq
• Member & founder of Iraqi Tribe Leaders
• Member & founder of Al-Anbar Tribe Leaders
• Member of Iraqi Contractor Society
• Member of Iraqi Engineering Society
• Member of Baghdad Chamber of Commerce (Premium Category)
• Member of Federation Iraq Indus
• Member of Iraqi businessmen Union