An Ol’ Broad’s Ramblings
Is The “Surge” Working?
Al-Qaeda faces rebellion from the ranks
Fed up with being part of a group that cuts off a person’s face with piano wire to teach others a lesson, dozens of low-level members of al-Qaeda in Iraq are daring to become informants for the US military in a hostile Baghdad neighbourhood.
There is seriously something wrong with people who could do this sort of thing to another human being. But I guess al Qaeda aren’t really human.
The ground-breaking move in Doura is part of a wider trend that has started in other al-Qaeda hotspots across the country and in which Sunni insurgent groups and tribal sheikhs have stood together with the coalition against the extremist movement.
“They are turning. We are talking to people who we believe have worked for al-Qaeda in Iraq and want to reconcile and have peace,†said Colonel Ricky Gibbs, commander of the 4th Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, which oversees the area.
I can’t imagine any semi normal person joining up with such a group unless they were already predisposed to slaughter. With the way they are “educating” their kids, I guess they’ll have plenty of replacements.
The sewage-filled streets of Doura, a Sunni Arab enclave in south Baghdad, provide an ugly setting for what US commanders say is al-Qaeda’s last stronghold in the city. The secretive group, however, appears to be losing its grip as a “surge†of US troops in the neighbourhood – part of the latest effort by President Bush to end the chaos in Iraq – has resulted in scores of fighters being killed, captured or forced to flee.
If we allow the Dhimmis a time table, I’m fairly sure they’ll be back.
“It is only after al-Qaeda has become truly barbaric and done things like, to teach lessons to people, cut their face off with piano wire in front of their family and then murdered everybody except one child who told the tale afterwards . . . that people realise how much of a mess they are in,†Lieutenant James Danly, 31, who works on military intelligence in Doura, said.
I was under the impression they had always been barbaric. Didn’t the folks notice?
Progress with making contacts and gathering actionable information is slow because al-Qaeda has persuasive methods of keeping people quiet. This month it beheaded two men in the street and pinned a note on to their corpses giving warning that anyone who cooperated with US troops would meet the same fate.
The increased presence of US forces in Doura, however, is encouraging insiders to overcome their fear and divulge what they know. Convoys of US soldiers are working the rubble-strewn streets day and night, knocking on doors, speaking to locals and following up leads on possible insurgent hideouts.
If the people of Iraq had never given them a foothold, life would have been a lot safer for them. But since they allowed them in, they are going to have to decide, do they want freedom, or do they want to fear for their lives, and the lives of their children on a daily basis.
The informants were not seeking an amnesty for crimes that they had committed. “They just do not want to be killed,†Lieutenant Flanigan said.
No doubt they know they are a whole lot safer with the Americans than they would be with al Qaeda.
Others, however, describe al-Qaeda in Iraq as a sort of franchise, with separate cells around the country that use the brand – made infamous by Osama bin Laden – and cultural ideology but do not work closely with each other or for one overriding leader.
Despite the uncertainties one thing seems guaranteed. A hardcore of people calling themselves al-Qaeda in Iraq remains devoted to the extremist cause and is determined to fight on whatever the cost.
Let’s face it…these are not people you can sit down with and have a chat. Either they must be destroyed, or we will. I prefer to see them destroyed.
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Th only place that I heard this was on Rush…. Somehow the other major news outlets missed it. Hmmmmmmm, go figure.
Was that where I heard it? With a small child jabbering 90 miles a minute, it’s hard to know. :/
You’re right, any good news out of Iraq will be totally ignored by the MSM. It’s not in their playbook.