From The Telegraph UK
By Oliver Poole

Supporters of al-Qa’eda in Iraq have used the elections staged by the United States to gain positions of political power, the American military believes. According to senior officers based in Anbar province, an insurgent stronghold in western Iraq, al-Qa’eda-linked politicians have gained seats in local elections to provincial assemblies.

None would publicly accuse any politicians by name or comment on the number under suspicion, but they are convinced that al-Qa’eda influence is particularly prevalent in the border towns of Qaim and Hit.

Al-Qa’eda was virulently opposed to the national elections held in Iraq last year, describing the votes in January and December as a “trick of Satan” and promising to kill anyone who voted.

But the news that some of the organisation’s supporters have gained seats at the local level illustrates both how it has adapted its tactics and the level of penetration it has achieved in Iraqi society.

American intelligence has also learnt that not only are some of its supporters now politicians but that a number of its leaders have married into leading local tribes to secure alliances.

Read more Al-Qaeda