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| Iraq |
| The new rules of engagement in Iraq |
| 2005-12-05 |
| The secret meeting took place earlier this year on the outskirts of Baghdad, in a safe house known only to the insurgents in attendance. One of them, an Iraqi known by the nom de guerre Abu Marwan, is a senior commander of the leading Baathist guerrilla group called the Army of Mohammed. Together with a representative of an alliance of Iraqi Islamist insurgent groups, Abu Marwan met aides to Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq. The purpose was to discuss the idea of uniting under a joint command the disparate networks fighting U.S. forces in Iraq. When the conversation turned to leadership issues, Abu Marwan's companion suggested that al-Qaeda replace al-Zarqawi with an Iraqi, "as it would have an enormous impact on the other groups." But an al-Zarqawi aide rebuffed the notion. "Who started our organization?" he asked rhetorically. No one was prepared to ask al-Zarqawi to step aside. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #3 This article is overly pessimistic and not good. |
| Posted by: bgrebel9 2005-12-05 19:47 |
| #2 This Times article and thier reporters have been pushing this hopeless war the enemy is inermerable and invulneralble in battle while the Iraqi forces will never be able to defeat them. My problem with this is how can the Times in one breath claim the Iraqi gov will never be able to defeat the insurgency they are incompetent and cowards who will never stand up. Then in the same breath claim the insurgency is invulnerable their fighters are fearless and inumerable and by the way the insurgency is also not foreign terrorist but Home grown Iraqi's. This is a oxymoron how can the Iraqi's in the "insurgency" be invulnerable while the gov forces are weak usless cowards??? something is a lie either the terrorist are not homegrown Iraqi's, the Iraqi gov forces do have potential of being equally invulnerable like their Iraqi bretheren on the otherside, or the "insurgency is equally as incompetent as the Iraqi gov forces and therfore the result is not garanteed but up in the air. So which one is a lie by the times is the question?? Personally I think the Iraqi gov forces are just as incompetent as the Iraqi terrorist. This whole idea of invulnerable terrorist is 100% BS and the pres and everyone should dispute it. If the terrorist are invulnerable why havent they achieved any of thier main goals were is the Calphate run by Bin Laden based? What the other Arab dictators are competent but not the Iraqi gov. Ohh thats right as long as they oppose the US they are invulnerable while our allies are useless cowards. I have seen this Times reported rolled out on CNN so much with no real rebutal it sickens me to the point of asking the TV over and over Mr Times would you tell us which part of your article is a lie, the insurgency being home grown iraqi, the Iraqi forces being worthless cowards incompetent with no hope, or the insurgency being invulneralbe fearless garanteed to win who will never die or loose which one Mr. Times Which One is the Lie since they obviously cant all be true. |
| Posted by: C-Low 2005-12-05 12:27 |
| #1 Interesting for what it doesn't say. it's clear the Americans are now going to bat for the Sunnis with a government that wants to crush them once for all. The Sunnis are outnumbered 4 to 1 by the Shiia and Kurds. In a civil war the Sunnis would lose. They might be able to hold their own in the Euphrates valley and parts of central Iraq, but they are unlikely hold on in their 2 main population centres, Baghdad and Mosul. Which will result in millions of Sunnis refugees. Even if they can hold out against the Shiia in Baghdad which I doubt, they have no chance in Mosul where the Kurds surround them and would starve them out within weeks. In a civil war, who is going to intervene to save their asses. Certianly not Syria, Jordan or Saudi Arabia. Turkey? maybe, but I doubt they would take the risk of their South East going up in flames if they attacked the Kurds. My prognosis is a low level civil war increasingly waged by the Shiia and Kurds until the Sunni are defeated, with a large slice of the Sunnis seeing the writing on the wall and siding with the government. The US doesn't want it to happen, but sooner rather than later will step back and let it happen while trying to contain the excesses. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-12-05 01:44 |