Iraqi government television has repeatedly broadcast confessions of what it says are foreign terrorists who allegedly infiltrated the country's porous borders to fight U.S.-led forces. The confessions, aired several times over the weekend, coincided with the massing of U.S. and Iraqi forces near Fallujah for an anticipated showdown with insurgents in the Sunni Muslim stronghold. The broadcasts were seen as a means of preparing the population for the coming attack on Fallujah, where the government says it's after foreigners and "terrorists," not city residents who are uninvolved in the insurgency. The station, Iraqiya, showed 19 men ages 20-40, dressed in blue jumpsuits and lined up against a wall while the camera panned their pale, bearded faces. An announcer read a statement accusing the prisoners "of carrying out mass killings, sabotage, inciting sectarianism and racism, destroying the economic and the social infrastructure of our people to take us back to the Dark Ages."
| Yeah, that pretty much covers it. |
 Of the 19 — five Syrians, five Saudis, four Jordanians, two Egyptians, a Palestinian and two Iranians — most were said to have entered Iraq in October 2003, during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. One, Youssef Hassan Suleiman, said he came from the same town in Jordan as terrorist mastermind Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, who has claimed responsibility for attacks against U.S. and Iraqi forces and kidnappings of foreigners. "I had $2,000 on me," he said with a smile when asked whether he had brought money to help finance the insurgency. Saleh Said al-Rahmani, of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, said he crossed the Saudi border into Iraq during Ramadan last year to follow "the call," a phrase normally meaning to spread the message of Islam. A young Palestinian, Tayseer Hassan Halabi, said he entered Iraq from Syria, where he lived temporarily. "I came to Iraq when the war started to join the fighters," he said. Halabi said that he made contacts with insurgents after arriving. Others, such as Ali Hassan of Yemen, Amer al-Abbas Mohammed of Jordan and Anaas Farouq Ahmed of Syria, did not give details about their activities since arriving. Iraqiya said the 19 were among 167 people arrested recently by Iraqi police and who are now under interrogation. Iraq's interim government and the United States have been pushing Iraq's neighbors, especially Syria, to secure their borders to prevent foreign fighters from neighboring Arab states and elsewhere from entering Iraq and attacking coalition forces.
Also Sunday, Portugal announced it will extend the deployment of its police contingent in Iraq until February. Portugal has about 120 policemen stationed in the southern city of Nasiriyah. They are serving under Italian forces. The Portuguese forces were due to head out on Nov. 12, but the government said they will stay for 90 more days to help provide security during elections set for January. Prime Minister Pedro Santana Lopes said last week he wanted assurances the elections would go ahead before deciding whether to keep the police in Iraq. Those assurances were provided by Iraqi interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi at last week's European Union summit, Sunday's statement said. |