Al-Qaeda In Iraq RETURNS -- To The Nation We Destroyed (Bushies Say 'Defeated') -- BUT STILL HAVE OVER 100,000 TROOPS THERE!
Ralph Waldo
And why the fuck would anyone but DAFFY DUMB SHIT, Rush, Beck, Sean,
Repugs, other racists, and other uneducated dumb'ns want to toss
40,000 more troops to the dogs in Afghanistan?
----------
"Al-Qaeda in Iraq regaining strength"
GOVERNMENT IS THE TARGET
More high-profile blasts likely in run-up to vote
By Ernesto Londoño
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, November 22, 2009
BAGHDAD -- The Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq has rebounded in
strength in recent months and appears to be launching a concerted
effort to cripple the Iraqi government as U.S. troops withdraw, Iraqi
and American officials say.
The group asserted responsibility for four powerful bombings that
targeted five government buildings in Baghdad in August and October --
the deadliest attacks directed at the government in more than six
years of war. Authorities say al-Qaeda in Iraq intends to carry out
additional high-profile attacks in the months ahead and is attempting
to regain its foothold in former strongholds just outside the capital.
The strategy represents a shift in tactics from the group's efforts to
kindle the kind of sectarian violence that brought Iraq to the brink
of anarchy in 2007. The group suffered major setbacks after the
"surge" in U.S. troops to Iraq that year, but American and Iraqi
officials say that al-Qaeda in Iraq has found more recent success by
enlisting other groups in an effort aimed at undermining elections
scheduled for January and the formation of a new government.
Although the group has lost many top leaders, funding sources and
popular support, it stands to gain from a deeply split political
establishment, growing Sunni resentment toward the Shiite-led
government, disjointed Iraqi security agencies and the diminishing
ability of U.S. forces to engage in combat operations in Iraq.
"They're still capable of conducting singular high-profile attacks,"
Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said.
What was once a foreign-led terrorist organization is now a mostly
Iraqi network of small, roving cells that continue to rely on the flow
of fighters and weapons smuggled through the Syrian border, albeit at
a slower rate, U.S. and Iraqi officials say.
Syria denies role
Maj. Gen. Hussein Kamal, the Interior Ministry's chief of intelligence
and investigations, said Iraqi officials suspect the Aug. 19 and Oct.
25 bombings, which targeted the Foreign, Justice and Finance
ministries, among other entities, were planned at a secret meeting in
Zabadani, a city in southwestern Syria, close to the Lebanese border.
He said al-Qaeda in Iraq leaders met with former members of Saddam
Hussein's Baath Party on July 30 to chart out a new strategy.
"They made a plan to carry out major joint operations in central
Baghdad targeting important buildings," Kamal said in an interview.
The attacks killed more than 250 people and wounded more than 1,000.
The four bombs were manufactured in Baghdad, not far from the targets,
Kamal said. The two used in August were made with fertilizer and
conventional explosives and were packed into water tanks. The ones in
October included C-4 explosives and artillery shells, he said.
The blasts were deeply damaging to the government of Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki, who just weeks earlier had trumpeted the readiness of
his security forces to maintain order as most U.S. troops pulled out
of Iraqi cities.
The government announced the arrest of former members of the Baath
Party and accused Syria of harboring terrorist cells. Syrian officials
have said they do not condone attacks on Iraqi soil.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq came to control large parts of the country between
2005 and 2008. The group is the largest within the Islamic State of
Iraq, an umbrella organization that seeks to turn Iraq into an Islamic
republic run by Sunnis.
The U.S. troop surge in 2007 and the creation of American-funded Sunni
paramilitary groups left al-Qaeda in Iraq reeling, as scores of its
leaders were killed or detained.
But after the provincial election in Iraq this year, al-Qaeda offered
an olive branch to other Sunni extremist groups, issuing a message
that even went as far as extending "a hand of forgiveness" to those
who worked with the Americans.
Some groups responded favorably to the overture, but there is little
evidence that al-Qaeda in Iraq's membership has swelled significantly,
said Rita Katz, who runs the SITE Intelligence Group, a Bethesda-based
organization that analyzes extremist organizations. It does not appear
that Sunni paramilitary groups that once worked with the United States
have rejoined the insurgency, even though many have been angered that
the United States has handed responsibility for them to the Shiite-led
government.
Change in strategy
U.S. and Iraqi officials blamed al-Qaeda in Iraq for major attacks
targeting civilians in Baghdad and northern Iraq this year. The
bombings did not unleash the kind of sectarian violence that followed
similar attacks in 2006 and 2007, and officials and experts say that
al-Qaeda in Iraq appears to be focusing its strikes on government
targets.
"AQI has perhaps realized that in order to gain as wide a base of
support as possible, the group must fight an enemy that can be more
easily justified through an interpretation of Islamic law," Katz said,
referring to the targeted government buildings, which al-Qaeda in Iraq
considers extensions of the U.S. occupation. "While the group may
still, in fact, be carrying out attacks on civilians, especially in
Shia areas, the group does not take credit for these attacks for fear
of losing popular support."
The Islamic State of Iraq this month issued another plea calling for
Sunnis to rally around a common end goal, according to an online
posting translated and analyzed by SITE.
U.S. officials said the recent bombings were a last-ditch attempt by a
marginalized, weakened group to regain relevance.
"My own personal analysis is there are some dispersed groups trying to
bond for some short-term common interest," said Col. Mark R. Stammer,
a brigade commander in Anbar province, where recent attacks have been
blamed on al-Qaeda in Iraq.
The leadership of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Qaeda in Iraq
remains hazy. In April, the Iraqi government announced that it had
arrested the presumed leader of the umbrella organization, Abu Omar al-
Baghdadi.
Odierno said this week that there are probably two or three
individuals who assume Baghdadi's identity but that the United States
thinks the group's leader remains at large.
Iraqi and American officials worry about a rise in attacks in the run-
up to the elections, scheduled for Jan. 18.
The weeks and months after the vote could be particularly critical
because key security jobs could go unfilled indefinitely as elected
officials divvy up ministries and major posts. The government was
virtually paralyzed after the 2005 election amid squabbling over top
jobs -- an impasse that coincided with an increase in violence.
[Special correspondent Qais Mizher contributed to this report.]
Roy Blankenship
"Moonpie" <mr_rc_...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:gpblg594aeeovmiqv...@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 22 Nov 2009 09:20:54 -0800 (PST), Ralph Waldo
> <slipu...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> >So, what gives?
> >
> >And why the fuck would anyone but DAFFY DUMB SHIT, Rush, Beck, Sean,
> >Repugs, other racists, and other uneducated dumb'ns want to toss
> >40,000 more troops to the dogs in Afghanistan?
>
> ---------
>
> withdrawal orders in Iraq or Afghanistan.
>
> He's the president; he could send all those troops home with the swipe
> of a pen.
>
> But he wont do it.
>
> Deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan since January are ALL OBAMAS FAULT.
>
> His responsibility.
And Bush serving two terms is blamed on YOU. YOUR responsibility. YOU didn't
protest when he was running our country into the ground. All you want to do
is point fingers, FYI Obama actually TAKES responsibility for what is going
on, unlike your hero, Bush. Get a job, get a life, and STFU.
Roy Blankenship
> party loyalty retardation".
When you say something like "ALL OBAMA'S FAULT", that is a load of crap and
ignores the REAL reason our troops are in harm's way.
>
> You need help.
No, I don't.
>
> I didn't vote for Bush. I also protested against BOTH wars.
Good!
>
> Its hilarious that you turn any actual criticism of Obama, into
> criticism of Bush, making an ass out of yourself by Ass-uming that the
> criticism of Obama comes from someone who believed in Bush and his
> failed administration.
If it walks like a duck....
> WTF is wrong with all you weirdos? Are you simply afraid to be men and
> accept legit critical observations of your side?
>
> Obama is the military commander in chief. Battlefield deaths are his
> responsibilty now. Deal with it. Be a man.
It has nothing to do with "being a man". Maybe you could find something
meaningful to obsess on. I agree we should be out of there, but finger
pointing solves nothing.
Lamont Cranston
> On Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:44:38 -0600, "Roy Blankenship"
> <point...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
>>
>> "
>> When you say something like "ALL OBAMA'S FAULT", that is a load of
>> crap and ignores the REAL reason our troops are in harm's way.
>
>
>
> WHO IS PREPARING TO SEND EVEN MORE OF THEM OVER THERE?
>
>
> Not only are you a blind party loyalist, you're an ignorant fool.
>
>
>> I agree we should be out of there, but finger
>> pointing solves nothing.
>>
>
>
>
>
> sez the tard who originally responded to criticism of Obama with BUT
> BUSH...
>
> un-fucking-believable.
>
> Go ahead and play the race card, you got nothing left.
Waaahhh! Waaahhh! Waaahhh! Obama's not cleaning up the Bush messes
fast enough! Waaahhh! Waaahhh! Waaahhh!