Iraqi tribal leaders on the front lines of the battle against the Islamic State (IS) are being denied an audience in Washington as the Barack Obama administration focuses instead on working with Baghdad.

Several tribal sheikhs say their tribes have infiltrated IS, also known as ISIS or ISIL, on both sides of the border with Syria and are ready to share valuable information with the US military that could be used to locate hostages, target supply routes and monitor recruitment efforts. There’s a catch, though: The United States must deal directly with them, not with a central government that they see as little more than a stooge for Iran that has been oppressing them for the past decade.

“I’m trying to put together a group of sheikhs to come here to Washington ASAP,” said Mark Alsalih, a US lobbyist for Sheikh Ali Hatem al-Suleiman, the emir of the largest tribe in Iraq and one of the leaders of the Sunni revolt against Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government in Anbar province. “These folks are coming with actionable intelligence. The tribes can identify with great accuracy where ISIS is, who’s supporting them, how they’re getting their money and even where they sleep at night.”

Alsalih said Sunni tribes are fed up with the extremism of IS, which he said imposes rules and restrictions unheard of in Islam.