About The Iraqi "Insurgents"

[Annie]

There are few actual insurgents, most are terrorists from other lands.

Now something positive, that DOES have to do with Iraqis:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/mai...rq04.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/07/04/ixworld.html

US delight as Iraqi rebels turn their guns on al-Qa'eda
By Oliver Poole in Qaim
(Filed: 04/07/2005)

American troops on the Syrian border are enjoying a battle they have long waited to see - a clash between foreign al-Qa'eda fighters and Iraqi insurgents.

Tribal leaders in Husaybah are attacking followers of Abu Musab Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born terrorist who established the town as an entry point for al-Qa'eda jihadists being smuggled into the country.

The reason, the US military believes, is frustration at the heavy-handed approach of the foreigners, who have kidnapped and assassinated local leaders and imposed a strict Islamic code.

Fighting, which could be clearly heard at night over the weekend, first broke out in May when as many as 50 mortar rounds were fired across the city. But, to the surprise of the American garrison, this time it was not the target.

If a shell landed near the US base, "they'd adjust their fire and not shoot at us", Lt Col Tim Mundy said. "They shot at each other."

The trigger was the assassination of a tribal sheikh, from the Sulaiman tribe, ordered by Zarqawi for inviting senior US marines for lunch. American troops gained an insight into the measures the jihadists had imposed during recent house-to-house searches in nearby towns and villages.

Iraq factfile

Shops selling music and satellite dishes had been closed. Women were ordered to wear all-enveloping clothing and men forbidden from wearing western clothes.

Anyone considered to be aiding coalition forces was being killed or kidnapped. That included those with links to the government - seen as a US puppet - such as water or electricity officials. As a result local services had collapsed.

Captain Thomas Sibley, intelligence officer of 3rd battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, based in Qaim, said: "People here were committed supporters of the insurgency but you cannot now even get a marriage licence.

"The tribes are the only system or organisation left and they appear to have stepped in.

"In the last week our camp in the town was attacked and the attackers got ambushed on the way back by two machineguns and mortar fire. That is good news for us."

Baghdad recently warned that Iraqi insurgents, many of them nationalists rather than Islamists, and al-Qa'eda cells were working more closely together than in the past. That was brought into doubt when the bodies of three foreigners, believed to be insurgents, were discovered in Ramadi, apparently killed by Iraqis.

But the extent of the jihadist presence in Hasaybah - and therefore the subsequent tension - is unique.

Foreign fighters first started to arrive two years ago after Zarqawi bought properties to use as safe houses for arrivals before they could be funnelled east towards Baghdad and other major cities.

The police fled in November. In mid-June, al-Qa'eda units took over key buildings, including mosques and government offices. "Al-Qa'eda in Iraq" flags were raised.

The city, 240 miles north-west of Baghdad and adjacent to the insurgent centre of Qaim, is so dangerous that soldiers in the US base sleep in bunkers because of mortar and rocket attacks.

Following al-Qa'eda's seizure of the main buildings a number of residents fled. Arkan Salim, 56, who left with his wife and four children, said: "We thought they were patriotic. Now we discovered that they are sick and crazy.

"They interfered in everything, even how we raise our children. They turned the city into hell, and we cannot live in it anymore."

 

[gaffer]

Looks like the Iraqis are getting mad. Now if they just start hanging them from bridges and dragging their bodies through the streets while al jezera films it all, then we really have a break thru.

Once again, isn't it odd that the MSM isn't covering all this.

 

[Gunny]

There are few actual insurgents, most are terrorists from other lands.

Now something positive, that DOES have to do with Iraqis:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/mai...rq04.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/07/04/ixworld.html

Looks like a few folks are figuring out the REAL enemy is.

 

[Gabriella84]

I have been stating this for a while. How does the average Iraqi differentiate between the people with guns?
If you allow the Iraqi people to determine who their real enemy is, they will know who to fight against.

 

[Annie]

I have been stating this for a while. How does the average Iraqi differentiate between the people with guns?
If you allow the Iraqi people to determine who their real enemy is, they will know who to fight against.

Not quite what YOU have been saying Gabby, rather you have been saying that the Iraqis do NOT want the US there, failing to see that while they DON'T want us there permanently, they NEED us there for a time. I know at 21, the idea of 5-10 years seems like a lot, all I can tell you is that a decade from now, will seem very short, you are on that cusp.

Some of your posts:

http://www.usmessageboard.com/forums/showpost.php?p=300177&postcount=4

http://www.usmessageboard.com/forums/showpost.php?p=299141&postcount=6

http://www.usmessageboard.com/forums/showpost.php?p=299028&postcount=40

http://www.usmessageboard.com/forums/showpost.php?p=298572&postcount=1
Uh, for the above, YOU will have to wade through the Al Jezerra article you posted, once was enough for me.

 

[nosarcasm]

this is just a propaganda peace imo. If the Iraqi population would truly
oppose the terrorist they would not be able to operate on the level
they do. The antisemitic attitude runs deep in Iraq. Thats why they
call the American troops jews.

The only thing that can get a change of mind is massive bloodshed
and for political reason that is not an option.

With the Us public already weak, I start to think this will not work out.

 

[Annie]

this is just a propaganda peace imo. If the Iraqi population would truly
oppose the terrorist they would not be able to operate on the level
they do. The antisemitic attitude runs deep in Iraq. Thats why they
call the American troops jews.

The only thing that can get a change of mind is massive bloodshed
and for political reason that is not an option.

With the Us public already weak, I start to think this will not work out.

Actually there have been increasing 'red on red' attacks, those that show the Iraqis fighting the insurgents. That is a necessary prelude to any hope of peace.

http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/007038.php

http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/archives/002200.html

http://www.indepundit.com/archive2/2005/06/red_on_red.html

 

[nosarcasm]

I hope the Iraqi will comprehend that they can gain more from cooperating
with the US then playing martyrs for the Islamist extremists.

The key will be to get the Sunni's back into the government so their
leader start cracking down on the foreign networks.

 

[Gunny]

this is just a propaganda peace imo. If the Iraqi population would truly
oppose the terrorist they would not be able to operate on the level
they do. The antisemitic attitude runs deep in Iraq. Thats why they
call the American troops jews.

The only thing that can get a change of mind is massive bloodshed
and for political reason that is not an option.

With the Us public already weak, I start to think this will not work out.

I can agree with your statement to a point, but not just Iraq. Arabs in general, not just radical Islamists, are taught from birth that we are evil colonialists and not to trust us.

These tribes probably didn't take too much crap off of Saddam, and they aren't going to take it off of us, nor even Zarqawi. TO them, he's just one more interloper. You'd think HE'd at least recognize that, even if we refuse to.