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Is Falluja Next?
The Iraqi newspaper al-Mada, which has recently been at the forefront in reporting the news of the retreat of al-Qa'ida from al-Anbar, has published another front-page article claiming that Al-Qa'ida is now facing in Falluja the same form of opposition that had forced its retreat from other Anbari cities.Al-Mada quoted unnamed sources (perhaps the same sources that had informed the paper about events in Hit and Ramadi in the last weeks) who told the newspaper that al-Qa'ida is in its death throes in Falluja. Falluja is seen by Iraqis and Americans alike as a bastion of opposition to the US occupation and the pro-American Iraqi government. Eliminating al-Qa'ida from the city, or even significantly weakening it, would be seen as a major step in depriving al-Qa'ida from its safe havens in Iraq. Al-Qa'ida is resorting to harsher tactics as its popularity plummets in Anbar, claimed al-Mada. Among those new methods is the liquidation of ex-supporters who have left the organization, and different forms of collective punishment against communities that ally themselves with al-Qa'idas enemies. As expected, al-Mada heralded Malikis visit to Ramadi, Anbars capital, yesterday as a sign of the faltering of al-Qa'ida. The newspaper said that the visit was the last nail in al-Qa'idas coffin..." Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-03-15 |
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