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Internal strife hits militants in Iraq
By Ian Fisher and Edward WongThe New York Times July 11th, 2004 Tension appears to be rising between the homegrown Iraqi resistance and the foreign Islamic fighters who have entered the country to destroy the U.S. military here. This is one reason, experts speculate, that Iraq has not had the kind of spectacular attack meant to spread terror and defy the U.S. agenda for a long two weeks, even during the transfer of formal sovereignty back to the Iraqis. Evidence has emerged in sniping between groups on Arabic television and Web sites, and in interviews with Iraqi and U.S. officials, as well as members of the resistance and people with close ties to it. All speak of rising friction between nationalistic fighters and foreign-led Islamists concerning goals and tactics, with some Iraqi insurgents indicating a revulsion over the car bombs and suicide attacks in cities that have caused hundreds of civilian deaths. But such friction does not mean there is a "submission by the resistance," said Dhary Rasheed, a professor at the University of Baghdad who lives in Samarra, a center for the resistance. "It is a phase of reconstruction and re-evaluation in order to push the operations out of the cities," so as "not to have innocent people killed." Large car-bombings -- thought to be carried out more often by foreigners, who make up a small percentage of the insurgents -- have "disgraced the reputation of the resistance," Rasheed said. "And the resistance has worked just like the government has been trying to, to curtail the influence of the foreigners." Posted by: Mark Espinola 2004-07-11 |
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