Lord of marshes joins with troops

They drank Diet Coke together, compared notes on the latest deadly feuds between Iraqi sheikhs and shared jokes as if they were old friends. Tall, bearded and dressed in white robes, the rebel-turned-politician chatted long into the night one evening last week with the UK officer.

In the lawless south-eastern Iraqi province of Maysan, near the Iranian border, Karim Mahoud Al Mahamadawi - known universally by his nom de guerre Abu Hattem - and Lt Col Mark Castle, commanding officer of the King's Own Scottish Borderers, have forged a close and successful working relationship. It was the end of a typical day's trouble-shooting.

Lt Col Castle mentioned a firefight between rival tribes in a nearby town. "Let them kill each other. We have bigger problems to worry about," said Abu Hattem, laughing but only half-joking. "Oh I can't do that. Security means security," replied Lt Col Castle. Their rapport is in stark contrast to the lack of co-operation between supposed allies elsewhere in Iraq.

In Maysan, Abu Hattem and Lt Col Castle work closely to solve tribal disputes, tackle looting and smuggling and calm tensi-ons between locals and British troops. Their co-operation helps explain why Maysan has been spared the worst turmoil of post-war Iraq.

"Life would be much more difficult for us were it not for Abu Hattem," says Lt Col Castle, who has had to learn fast about the often bloody local tribal rivalries. Abu Hattem repaid the compliment. "My relations with the British are very good," he tells me.

"As you can see, we are like brothers. Lt Col Castle works day and night to sort out the problems of Maysan. He understands us and has good co-ordination with us." As charming as he is savvy, Abu Hattem cuts a dashing figure, invariably dressed in immaculate robes covered by a thin brown cloak edged with gold braid.

Some days, he drops in to see Lt Col Castle at the former Iraqi IV Corps camp near the provincial capital, Amara; on other occasions, as on Thursday evening, the British commander visits Abu Hattem at his riverside offices in the city.

Before and after Lt Col Castle's visit, petitioners lined up to see Abu Hattem in his spacious reception room. He spent three hours with sheikhs and commoners, discussing everything from unpaid wages for former judges to the role of the city supervisory committee.

One moment, he was listening intently, flicking prayer beads around his fingers and fanning himself with a piece of paper; the next he leaned forward, maintaining eye contact and touching the knee of his guest as he dispensed wisdom and guidance.

A Western politician could not have been better coached by an image consultant or spin doctor.

Abu Hattem, 45, earned the respect of the people of Maysan - and the sobriquet Lord of the Marshes - for his exploits as leader of a Shiite rebel faction in the southern marshland after his release from jail in 1986.

After six years as a political prisoner and another 17 as a guerrilla fighter, he planned to "retire", find a wife and start a family. Now those plans are on hold.

Abu Hattem has emerged as an increasingly polished performer on the national stage, where he sits on the Governing Council, and chosen to address Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary during his recent visit.