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| Iraq |
| Iraqi insurgent leader turns guns on Zarqawi |
| 2006-04-16 |
| He looks every inch the face of the Iraqi resistance: a tribal leader from the Sunni badlands west of Baghdad, who once served in Saddam Hussein's feared intelligence network. But Sheikh Osama Jadaan's dislike of foreign occupation is nothing compared to his contempt for Iraq's other intruders - the foreign jihadists who have indiscriminately killed thousands of his countrymen. Now, in what coalition commanders hope will mark a turning of the tide against al-Qaeda in Iraq, he has become the first of the Sunni tribal leaders to declare war on the terrorists to whom, until now, they have given safe haven. He is well-placed to do so - his al-Karabla tribe lives around the desert city of Al Qaim, near the Syrian border in Anbar province, the Sunni insurgents' stronghold. Sheikh Jadaan's armed followers claim to have arrested and killed 300 would-be jihadis entering from Syria, many bound for service as suicide bombers with Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq. "I am doing this job because the foreign terrorists kill the civilians," said Sheikh Jadaan, 52, at his heavily guarded villa. "None of them ever attack the Americans except occasionally, they just attack the innocents. This is to restore the reputation of jihad." Coalition commanders were unable to verify the sheikh's claims to the Sunday Telegraph. However, there seems to be little doubt that he is a bitter enemy of Zarqawi's forces. Since starting his campaign last year - angry at a suicide bombing that killed 70 Sunnis in Ramadi - there have been two attempts on his life, first with a roadside bomb and then with a machine gun. The attacks forced him to swap his tribal home for a more easily defended villa in a Baghdad suburb, backed by his formidable security entourage. When his armour-plated Chevrolet four-wheel-drive leaves the CCTV-monitored gates of his compound, so do 13 escort vehicles, packed with armed bodyguards. On his side, against al-Qaeda, are thousands of his fellow tribesfolk, whose bond of blood takes precedence over loyalty to any other cause. Sheikh Jadaan fled Iraq in 1998 after falling out with the regime. Last November he accused US and Iraqi forces of heavy-handedness, calling for the "American occupiers to get out of Iraq and leave Iraq to the Iraqis". However, he is convinced that the presence of foreign terrorists such as Zarqawi risks leading Iraq into permanent chaos - potentially prolonging the occupation. Sheikh Jadaan's stance follows similar moves by many secular Sunni insurgents, who have ended their marriage of convenience with al-Qaeda in protest at its brutal methods. The split is understood to have received tacit encouragement from the US military, although it is reluctant to encourage private militias, which it says operate to no agreed military guidelines and could pursue private feuds. |
| Posted by:Flelet Spavinter3070 |
| #2 UT7060, sharp and consise, nice that. |
| Posted by: RD 2006-04-16 11:13 |
| #1 He looks every inch the face of the Iraqi resistance: a tribal leader from the Sunni badlands west of Baghdad, who once served in Saddam Hussein's feared intelligence network. Not that it would dawn on the MSM that these are the same butchers who had no problem killing women and children without hesitation under Saddam. That real torture was commonly practiced. It's not that he specifically was one who received bribes from CNN to make 'happy and glad' stories on behalf of his former patron. .. foreign occupation.. Nice catch phrase there loyal party member. Just like West Germany and Japan were under foreign occupation. BTW, what was the time between the 'surrender' and the establishment of an elected democratic government in those countries? Are they still under foreign occupation today? Cause I could swear American military are still in country somewhere within their borders. |
| Posted by: Uninenter Thirong7060 2006-04-16 10:39 |