Al Queda In Iraq - Page 2 - PhillyBlog

Tannhauser · #11 (**permalink**) 07-10-2007, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markedixon

His informed conclusion was that the primary connection between bin Laden & Co. and these people in Iraq was that both were using the same name. (Bush, of course, wants to conflate the two because Al Qaeda is his favorite bogeyman.)

His informed conclusion, of course, overlooks the intercepted correspondence between Zarqawi and Zawahiri discussing the dire straits of AQIZ and the repeated references to AQIZ by Zawahiri in his releases. Probably a little more tied together than "both using the same name".
After trying for four years to undercut our troops efforts and denying their successes, it's amazing (to me) to witness the opponents of the war's continued disinterst in cause and motivation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by markedixon

Oh, I suspect that they were probably about as "peaceful in nature" as Camp Lejeune. (Why should the United States be the only one with terror training camps?)

Ahh... comparing our Armed Forces with terrorists, an old trick, but thanks for showing your true colors, Mark.
Tell me, Mark, if you believe America and its Military are no better than terrorists who target children for violence, then wouldn't you say America is evil? And isn't the reaction of a good person when confronted with evil, to hate it? So, would you say you hate America?

Tannhauser · #12 (**permalink**) 07-10-2007, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seand

Since polls in Iraq still show more 70% of Iraquis want a a US withdrawal and hundreds of thousands of Iraquis have fled the country for Iraq the answer would clearly be "No".

Just like all our troops would like to come home... eventually. What percent of the Iraqis do you think would like to see us leave them to the tender mercies of al Queda? Further, even if the question were posed that way, how would you answer, knowing that al Queda would likely target you for execution in front of your family (with them following) if they found out you answered in support of the ISF/U.S.?

Quote:

Originally Posted by seand

That would explain the carbombs and IED's silly rabbit.

That would explain the carbombs that go off in the markets and recruiting stations?
That would explain the IEDs with Iranian munitions?
Not sure I follow you there.
You may not be following the events in Iraq all that closely.

seand · #13 (**permalink**) 07-10-2007, 04:17 PM

There are at least a dozen different Sunni insurgent groups. Al Queda in Iraq is just one. They all get various ammounts of volluntary local support. Some of the the Sunni militias that attack US forces are closely alligned with parties in the Iraqui government. The situation with the Shiias is similarly convoluted. Then there are the purely criminal gangs. There is even the odd mesianic cult armed to the teeth. We aren't just at war with Al Queda in Iraq, we are at war with 20 or 30 groups that variously are at war with eachother and permeate the Iraqui government at every level. How closely do you follow the war, not enough aparently.

Tannhauser · #14 (**permalink**) 07-10-2007, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seand

There are at least a dozen different Sunni insurgent groups. Al Queda in Iraq is just one. They all get various ammounts of volluntary local support. Some of the the Sunni militias that attack US forces are closely alligned with parties in the Iraqui government. The situation with the Shiias is similarly convoluted. Then there are the purely criminal gangs. There is even the odd mesianic cult armed to the teeth. We aren't at war with Al Queda in Iraq, we are at war with 20 or 30 groups that variously are at war with eachother and permeate the Iraqui government at every level. How closely do you follow the war, not enough aparently.

20 or 30 different groups that can make the carbombs and IEDs you mentioned. Really?
How do you suppose a bunch of unaffiliated, untrained, Iraqis figured out how to make carbombs and IEDs while the "British" Jihadist DOCTORS couldn't figure out how to make one?

Tannhauser · #15 (**permalink**) 07-10-2007, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seand

We aren't at war with Al Queda in Iraq, we are at war with 20 or 30 groups that variously are at war with eachother and permeate the Iraqui government at every level. How closely do you follow the war, not enough aparently.

Iraq: Diyala Crackdown Nets Militants
July 02, 2007 11 12 GMT
U.S. and Iraqi troops have killed at least 60 al Qaeda militants since the crackdown in Iraq's Diyala province began June 19, the U.S. military said July 2. Additionally, 134 al Qaeda operatives have been detained, 45 weapon caches discovered and 96 improvised explosive devices destroyed. The massive assault in Diyala involves more than 10,000 troops.

Iraq: Senior Al Qaeda In Iraq Member Killed
June 30, 2007 14 36 GMT
U.S. forces on June 29 killed a senior member of al Qaeda in Iraq, the U.S. military said June 30. Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Masri, an Egyptian who worked directly under al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was killed between Baghdad and Al Fallujah.

Iraq: Two Turkish Al Qaeda Operatives Killed
June 27, 2007 19 13 GMT
U.S. forces killed two senior Turkish al Qaeda operatives, Mehmet Yilmaz and Mehmet Resit Isik, near the northern Iraqi city of Hawija, the U.S. military said June 27. A spokesman for the military said Yilmaz, who is also known as Khalid al-Turki, was known to help in the recruitment of foreign fighters to Iraq. Isik was a close associate of Yimaz.

Iraq: U.S. Operation Against Al Qaeda
June 19, 2007 11 15 GMT
The U.S. military launched a major offensive against al Qaeda militants around the Iraqi city of Baqubah in Diyala province June 19, killing some 22 militants in the early hours, the military said. The offensive, called Operation Arrowhead, involves 10,000 soldiers.

Iraq: U.S. Launches New Offensive
June 16, 2007 14 57 GMT
The U.S. military has launched a new offensive operation against al Qaeda strongholds around Baghdad, Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. military commander in Iraq, said June 16. Petraeus said the arrival of 30,000 additional U.S. troops in Iraq allowed him to launch the offensive. Petraeus made the announcements after meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Iraq early June 16.

Iraq: Blast At Al-Askariyah Shrine
June 13, 2007 11 19 GMT
Two minarets of the al-Askariyah shrine in the Iraqi city of As Samarra were destroyed June 13 in an explosion caused by suspected al Qaeda militants. The attack follows the February 2006 bombing at the mosque -- one of the most sacred Shiite shrines in Iraq -- that led to heavy sectarian violence. Following the blast, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki imposed an indefinite curfew on large gatherings and vehicle traffic in Baghdad, Iraqi state television reported. The political bloc of Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr suspended participation in parliament in response to the bombing.

seand · #16 (**permalink**) 07-10-2007, 05:05 PM

A little dated but just some of the Sunni groups. There are just as many Shiia factions.
http://www.globalterroralert.com/pdf...rgency0306.pdf

seand · #17 (**permalink**) 07-10-2007, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tannhauser

20 or 30 different groups that can make the carbombs and IEDs you mentioned. Really?
How do you suppose a bunch of unaffiliated, untrained, Iraqis figured out how to make carbombs and IEDs while the "British" Jihadist DOCTORS couldn't figure out how to make one?

Well there has been accusations of the Iranians manufacturing some of the IED's. The Brits had a big press conference about it 2months ago. Once they hit the black market, who knows where they all go. Our "allies" the Saudis are arming and funding lots of Sunni insurgent/militia to ballance the various groups the Iranians are arming and funding. Its a mess.

Are you saying we have never fought with an other factions other than AQ in Iraq? Who do you think the Mahdi Army are?

Tannhauser · #18 (**permalink**) 07-10-2007, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seand

Well there has been accusations of the Iranians manufacturing some of the IED's. The Brits had a big press conference about it 2months ago. Once they hit the black market, who knows where they all go.

When the artillary shells in the IED's have Farsi stenciling on them, I'd say it's a pretty safe bet the Iranians had a role in it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by seand

Our "allies" the Saudis are arming and funding lots of Sunni insurgent/militia to ballance the various groups the Iranians are arming and funding. Its a mess.

And what was it when you had a mad man ruling a country of 26 million, holding the worlds 4th largest oil reserves, toying with WMDs, funding and training terrorists, invading his neighbors, and growing even wealthier ignoring international sanctions?

Quote:

Originally Posted by seand

Are you saying we have never fought with an other factions other than AQ in Iraq? Who do you think the Mahdi Army are?

Read earlier posts referencing Iranian influence.

markedixon · #19 (**permalink**) 07-10-2007, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tannhauser

So, would you say you hate America?

You've obviously confused me with seand. He's the one who hates America. I'm the one who hates freedom.

seand · #20 (**permalink**) 07-10-2007, 07:32 PM

Saddam before we invaded was a brutal dictator to his own people but who posed little threat to the region, sat more or less weakened, isolated and contained after the first Gulf War and years of sanctions. Weakened though he was, he actually still represented a minor counter ballance to Iran and oil production (if that was our indeed our aim) was at significantly higher levels than Iraq is likely to see for decades to come.

Its been pretty much conclusively proven he had neither WMD nor traffic of any kind with Osama Bin Laden's Al Queda Al Queda. Now there is an active group called Al Queda in Iraq you just posted several links about and Islamic extremists from around the globe travel to Iraq to study and pick up "new tricks" about how to wreck havoc in their home countries.

Afganistan had previously been making some significant progress but fighters bringing new techniques and strategies developed in Iraq have given the once thought routed Taliban a new lease on life, increasingly threatening Hamdi Karzai's government. Now NATO is putting more and more troops into Afghanistan and finding it harder and harder to hold onto areas they thought they had already stabilized years ago.

Hundreds of thousands of Iraquis have fled Iraq's instability in numbers that simply dwarf the number of political refugees that fled Sadam's brutal, futhless but at least stable regime. Hundreds of thousands more are internally displaced. Kidnappings, ransoms, torture and rape by criminal gangs and by the various militias (some of whom strike in their US supplied uniforms and vehicles) touch almost every Iraqui family. On a weekly basis dozens of mutilated bodies (the militias both the Sunnis and the Shiia are fond of electric drills I've read) turn up dumped at the edge of town in areas of sectarian conflict. Oh and even in Bagdad they still don't have dependable electricity after how many years and how many billions of dollars?

Noone with a straight face can claim Iraq is less of a mess, or less of a potential threat to security throughout the entire region now as opposed to when we invaded. Saddam was a bastard, but now even the experts have a hard time keeping track of all the various factions killing eachother there currently.