RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 6/30/2007 1:30:31 AM
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Lion of Babylon
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Sadr Now Cancels July 5 March
Mosques Spread Word During Friday Prayers: Government Can't Protect Us
Moqtada al-Sadr has decided to cancel next week's planned march to Samarra, the Imam of the al-Kufa mosque announced during Friday services. According to VOI Sheikh Assad al-Naseri said that “Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr issued an order to cancel our march to Samarra after the government decided to abandon protection for the visitors.”
A number of mosques announced the latest development during Friday prayers, facing shouts and, occasionally, tears as worshippers reacted to the news that the July 5 march was being called off. Naseri directed the enmity at the Maliki regime, telling his followers at the al-Kufa mosque, “If the government is no longer able to protect citizens it has to step aside.”
Just Thursday, Sadr released a statement pledging the march would go forward as a demonstration of Iraqi unity.
"We want Iraqis, tribes, community leaders and officials to show goodwill and cooperation to make this visit successful and a turning point in broken relations because those criminals who destroyed the shrine will not be pleased (by this march)," said the statement from Sadr's office in Najaf. Al-Sadr appealed to the entire spectrum of religious and ethnic groups, saying "We hope that this year will be good for Iraqis when they get closer to each other by breaking all the barriers that were placed by the occupiers and takfiris."
Maliki's office publicly responded with a formal statement saying more time is needed to secure the road to Samarra."While we take into account the emotion of people who want to march peacefully to Samarra, we say that the task of securing the road is still incomplete according to reports from field leaders on the ground," the government statement said.
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 6/30/2007 1:05:43 PM
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azinorum
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Lion of Babylon
"We want Iraqis, tribes, community leaders and officials to show goodwill and cooperation to make this visit successful and a turning point in broken relations because those criminals who destroyed the shrine will not be pleased (by this march)," said the statement from Sadr's office in Najaf.
On the contrary. Those responsible would love to see as many officials and community leaders march. In gives them more targets to aim for. 
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 7/1/2007 1:17:42 PM
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azinorum
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Ya3ni what does Maliki want? For everyone to just leave the Jihoosh to run Baghdad? 
Iraq's prime minister slams US raid in Sadr City
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki condemned a U.S. raid Saturday in Baghdad's Shiite Sadr City slum - a politically sensitive district for him - in which U.S. troops searching for Iranian-linked militants sparked a firefight the U.S. military said left 26 Iraqis dead.
The military said all those killed in the fighting were gunmen, some of them firing from behind civilian cars. But an Iraqi official put the death toll lower, at eight, and said they were civilians.
Sadr City is the Iraqi capital's largest Shiite neighborhood - home to some 2.5 million people - making U.S. raids there potentially embarrassing for the Shiite-led government. The district is also the stronghold of the Mahdi Army, a militia loyal to anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
''The Iraqi government totally rejects U.S. military operations ... conducted without prior approval from the Iraqi military command,'' al-Maliki said in a statement concerning the Sadr City raid. ''Anyone who breaches the military command orders will face investigation.''
Al-Maliki last year banned military operations in Sadr City without his approval after complaints from his Shiite political allies. The ban frustrated U.S. commanders pushing for a crackdown on the Mahdi Army, blamed for sectarian killings.
Al-Maliki later agreed that no area of the capital was off-limits, after President Bush ordered reinforcements to Iraq as part of the Baghdad security operation.
http://www.registerguard.com/news/20...n=nation_world
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Religion + Politics = disaster
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 7/3/2007 12:51:44 AM
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Lion of Babylon
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Maliki is a weak and unqualified leader who cant make up his mind what he wants. The sooner he packs his bags and goes back to Tehran the better. He's done nothing for us since he came to power.
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 7/3/2007 12:54:51 AM
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Lion of Babylon
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Bros....Sadrists news from Damascus. Syrians will harbour anyone who best serves their interests. Bloody Baathists, I hate um.
In Exile, Sadrists Pursue Movement's Goals
Alive in Baghdad Interviews Sadrist Activists in Damascus
This week, Alive in Baghdad files from Damascus with rare interviews with displaced activists affiliated with the Sadrist living in the Syrian capital. The weekly video blog introduces the report as follows:
The US has again been stepping up actions against Muqtada Al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army. American soldiers, apparently searching for Iranian or Iran-supported militants, killed 26 Saturday in Sadr City. Iraq’s Prime Minister, Nuri Al-Maliki has spoken out, condemning the kilings.
Currently it seems that all the violence in Iraq not committed by Sunni insurgents is committed by Muqtada’s Mahdi Army. The label “Shiite militias” has become a catch-all that is too often equated without question to Muqtada’s followers. His followers are dedicated to him for two main reasons, the first is an alliance they feel to him as heir to his incredibly popular father, Muhammad Sadeq Al-Sadr, who is believed to have been assassinated on Saddam Hussein’s order in 1999. The second reason is that Muqtada utilized the resources of the Sadr Movement’s, as it was called under his father, to create stability and provide services to poor Iraqis when Baghdad’s infrastructure collapsed in 2003. Today, although the Mahdi Army has been involved in controversial actions, kidnappings, killings, and other acts, the Sadr Movement claims it is purging its membership, and taking responsibility for its past.
The Sadr Movement is more than just the Mahdi Army. They provided aid and security in 2003 when none existed, and even worked to stop looting and return stolen goods to their rightful owners. Today they still provide security and medical aid to needy Iraqis, even locating an office in neighboring Damascus. Alive in Baghdad spoke with the Sheikh who directs the Damascus office, and other Iraqis connected to the movement. For an in-depth look at these issues, see the most recent study in the Brookings-Bern series of reports on displaced Iraqis. The report, issued last month, surveys Iraqi refugees in Syria, and warns that displaced Iraqis in that country are growing more needy with time. The Syrian government has provided some support to the nearly one million Iraqis living in Syria, but the system is showing signs of strain.
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 7/3/2007 5:11:21 AM
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Lion of Babylon
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Zimo. Jordan is a tiny country while Syria isnt. The Syrians have a working industry and can supply themselves with most basic ammenities whereas the the Jordanians have to import everything. So its kinda different. I do take your point though.
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 7/3/2007 11:49:38 AM
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azinorum
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Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful to the Jordanians for giving me and many of my family shelter but their policy towards Iraqis stinks. Any Iraqi traveling to Jordan by air must purchase a return ticket before being allowed to travel. I've heard that after the plane lands a Jordanian security team boards and asks all Iraqis with no residency papers to stay on the plane and are flown back to Baghdad. Why not issue visas so that they know before hand whether they will be accepted in Jordan? The only happy people here are the airlines who are making a fortune out of this mehzela.
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Religion + Politics = disaster
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 7/4/2007 2:20:38 AM
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azinorum
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How to avoid being killed by the Jihoosh Al Mehdi and the other Shia death squads if you are Sunni;
Fake Your Sect to Fool Militias
Treasure of Baghdad
July 3, 2007
Iraqi Sunni youths have started an electronic campaign to protect themselves from Shiite militias. Faking faith to fool death squads is not a new phenomenon. It started after the increased reprisal killings in the aftermath of the al-Qaeda’s terrorists bombed the Holy Shrine in Sammara when Shiites militias stormed houses and streets and kidnapped and killed innocent Sunni people to avenge the bombing. The campaign included an extensive instructional email that contained instructions to Sunni people of how to dissemble themselves like Shiites so that in case they are kidnapped, militias release them believing they are Shiites.
Below is the translation of the email that has been forwarded to many Iraqi youths, including Shiites like myself.
It has been clear to many people that hundreds if not thousands are held hostages and were tortured according to their Sunni identity in different parts of Iraq. We have received confirmed information from people who were released after they were kidnapped "by mistake" because they were Shiites that many of the hostages were interrogated to identify whether they were Sunnis or Shiites. They were killed according to that.
The main questions which you might be asked are as follows:
1- What’s your sect?
2- What’s your surname?
3- Who are the 12 Imams? Count them.
4- Questions about religious ceremonies.
Thus, we advice you to do the following:
1- Practice disguising yourself as another person with a fake ID with a different surname. (Fake IDs are available at Mraidi Market), especially if your name is Omar or Othman or your surname is Dulaimi or Janabi, or your birthplace was in a Sunni majority areas.
2- Memorize the names of 12 [Shiite] Imams as listed at the bottom of the letter and carry a turba [a piece of clay in which Shiite Muslims use during prayers] in your pocket if you can.
3- Learn how to pray like Shiites.
4- Keep more than one turba [a round prayer tablet made from clay gathered in the holy cities] in your house clearly, and put a green or black flags on the roof of your house if needed.
5- In your house, keep a poster of Imam Hussein. You can buy it in Mutanabi Street in Baghdad.
6- Keep a copy of the "al-Sahifa al-Sijjadiya" in your houses, and read some of its moving prayers.
7- Keep a Latmiya in your cell phone.
8- Learn how to curse Yazeed and Mu’awiya and Bani Umaiya [early Sunni caliphs hated by the Shiites]
9- Wear or keep black clothes, especially during ceremonies that require wearing them.
10- Learn the Shiites ceremonies like the deaths of the Imams, their birthdates and the joy of Zahraa.
11- It’s OK to say that you are Sunni who switched to Shiisim.
12- Practice these things well and don’t forget to pray in Husseiniya or a Shiite mosque. All mosques are for God.
Be ware that Sunnis and Shiites are not enemies. Some ignorant who were tempted by evil plans want to spread hatred in Iraq. Remember that the occupation and their allies are the only ones to get benefit out of tearing the Iraqi society that was brotherly united since a thousand years ago.
Remember that your life is in danger. So don’t be careless. Allah is the only protector and He is the most merciful.
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Religion + Politics = disaster
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 7/6/2007 2:33:03 AM
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Lion of Babylon
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zimo. The new Iraq is all based on lies. From the invasion to the elections to the new Maliki bullshiters, everything is a load of bull. Look at Muqtada. He isnt even a man of god (not my god anyway). He is not qualified to speak arabic let alone issue religious doctrines and fatwah's. 
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 7/6/2007 2:59:10 AM
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Lion of Babylon
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Jihoosh are up to their old tricks.
Mahdi Army, Security Forces Clash in Samawa
Three Dead as Sadrists, Authorities Trade Allegations; City under Curfew
Clashes broke out early Thursday between members of the Mahdi Army and Iraqi security forces in the southern city of Samawa. "The casualties of the clashes rose up to three dead, including a policeman, and nine wounded, including three policemen and a woman," a medical source from Samawa hospital told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). Earlier on Thursday, eyewitnesses told VOI "the clashes broke out at 4:00 am on Thursday between armed elements the Mahdi Army and Iraqi security forces."
"The battles concentrated in the southern part of the city, during which machine guns and Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG) were used," a local source told VOI.
The clashes erupted after Mahdi Army fighters took to the streets on Wednesday following reports that a security patrol had escorted the motorcade of the chief of the Sadrist office in Samawa, Ali al-Khirsan while on way home from the nearby al-Rumithah town in Muthana province. The fighting lasted until Thursday afternoon, VOI reports in Arabic.
Apparently, Sadr loyalists feared a plan to arrest al-Khirsan after he exchanged accusations with the Muthanna governor, Muhammad Ali al-Hasani, over security violations in the province. These accusations began on Tuesday when the governor of al-Muthanna accused elements from the Mahdi Army of violating security in the city, leading al-Khirsan to fire back at him and his security apparatus, VOI reports.
Meanwhile, local sources said that efforts are being made to contain the crisis that started with the clashes between Mahdi army fighters and security forces in Samawa, the agency writes. Sporadic clashes continue in the city, Col. Kadhim al-Jayashi, director of the Muthanna police told VOI, according to an Arabic-language report by the agency, saying that fighting was heard in the center and south of Samawa involving automatic rifles. The colonel also said that a curfew was in effect throughout the city.
Clashes continue, differences remain
In a separate report in Arabic, VOI/Aswat al-Iraq reported that the local administration and the Mahdi Army leadership continue to differ over the causes of the fighting.
Col. al-Jayashi told VOI that the clashes broke out after “the authorities tried to spread order and prohibit the armed presence that spread through the city on Wednesday evening.”
Col. Jayashi said that “joint forces of the police and (Iraqi) Army stormed areas where militants had deployed, approaching from the al-Jumhouri area south of the city center, where these security forces were able to clear some of the areas after clashes with armed groups, and then withdrew.”
Eyewitnesses told al-Malaf Press that the police have closed off the principal streets in the city. Jayashi also said that parties, which he did not mention by name, were involved in negotiations to find a solution to the crisis, but inferred that these negotiations were not producing results.
Sadrist response
On the other hand, a Sadrist organization official told VOI that the clashes broke out after security forces raided Sadrist offices in Samawa. “The clashes broke out after forces of the Muthanna governor undertook an operation to storm the Sadr office at 4 a.m. on Thursday, supported by security forces,” Husayn al-Hadhifi, communications director at the Samawa Sadrist office said, according to VOI’s report in Arabic.
Muhammad Ali al-Hasani, Muthanna province’s governor, is affiliated with the SIIC. The SIIC and the Sadrist current are bitter political rivals in the Iraqi Shi'a community, and clashes have erupted in recent months between gunmen loyal to the two forces in other Shi'a areas of the country. Al-Hadhifi said that the attempt to storm the Sadr offices was foiled by the office’s guards, but was followed by two operations by Iraqi security forces to try to sieze control of areas controlled by the Mahdi Army. The Mahdi Army announced Thursday morning that it “will not initiate attacks (but) will maintain its defensive position,” al-Hadhifi said, also telling VOI that the Sadrist office had sent “a delegation to negotiate with the Muthanna governor, but that the governor refused to negotiate.”
Local religious leaders, political leaders, and dignitaries were involved in efforts to defuse the crisis, VOI reported in Arabic, citing local sources.
Mortar Rounds
In what VOI reports as a separate incident, a security source said "four mortar shells fell onto the (Muthanna) governate compound and caused no human casualties." The Muthanna provincial administration is headquartered in Samawa. The same security source told the news agency that a mortar fell onto Muthanna Police Department, wounding two policemen. Mortars also struck the headquarters of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, or SIIC.
Eyewitnesses said that weapons used by both sides in the fighting included automatic weapons and RPGs, and that the fighting was centered in the southern suburbs of Samawa city, including al-Jumhouri, al-Haydariya, and Muhafaza Street -- where the Sadrist office is located -- as well as al-'Amil district, al-Shurta, also reporting that the areas Samawa, on the Euphrates River, is located 175 miles south of Baghdad.
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 7/10/2007 1:40:51 AM
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Lion of Babylon
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Havent we been through this before? Why dont they just admit the retard is in Tahran and be done with it. Morons.
Sadr in Iran or Najaf?
Despite Denials, Mixed Reports Spark Speculation Shi'ite Leader Has Left Iraq
A Sadrist legislator is rejecting claims by the US military that the Shi'ite leader has fled to Iran, accusing the Americans of propagating rumors to "undermine the Sadrist bloc."
Verbal sparring between the Maliki and Sadr camps has dominated the Iraqi political scene in recent days.
Al-Maliki announced Saturday that the Sadrist Current has become a “host for criminal gangs” and is inhabited by “Saddamists and Ba'thists” who commit crimes and attacks against civilians.
Ahmad Al Shibani, a senior aid of cleric Moqtada Al Sadr, shot back that al-Maliki’s government is “practically over, in what concerns us and the occupation" and accused the PM of giving a "green light" for US forces to attack Sadrists.
Reuters reported Sunday that a military source said Sadr had gone to Iran, raising speculation that the cleric may have feared the perceived "green light."
But Falah Hassan Shanshal, a member of parliament from the Sadrist bloc, rejected those reports on Monday, "Muqtada al-Sadr is now in Najaf, where he resides, and has never left Iraq for any other country."
Shansal also took the opportunity to heap more criticism on the Maliki regime, saying "Maliki's groundless accusations against the Sadrists were part of unbalanced statements. We say that the Baathists and takfirists have infiltrated into state institutions, which is indicated by governmental calls to have the former repressive security agencies back in public organizations."
He pointed out that the Maliki government "has turned out to be a failure, one and a half years after coming to power, as far as providing security and services to citizens are concerned."
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 7/12/2007 10:58:56 PM
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Lion of Babylon
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Dudes, so this is how Muqtada pays the wages.
Massive Bank Heist in Central Baghdad
Guards Pull off Inside Job, Netting $282 Million Cash
Guards staged one of the largest bank robberies in Iraqi history, making off with a stunning $282 million dollars in cash from a private bank in central Baghdad, Aswat al-Iraq reports in Arabic.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, an Interior Ministry source told Aswat al-Iraq that, “Three guards working for the Dar al-Salam Bank located on Sa'adoun Street in central Baghdad were able to attack the bank . . . stealing a sum of up to $282 million dollars, and fled in an unknown direction after implementing the operation.”
“The bank robbery is considered one of the most massive thefts to ever happen in Iraq,” the source continued.
The bank did not offer any additional details on the matter, saying on that the Iraqi security forces “opened an investigation into the event to learn details and the identities of the perpetrators.”
The New York Times confirms that the stolen money was denomiated in US dollars, not Iraqi dinars. The Times also writes that police sources said only two guards were involved in the operation.
Security officials were not sure why the bank had such a large sum of cash on hand, the Times writes, and speculated that the perpetrators of the robbery may have been linked to militias, citing the ease of the getaway in a city thick with checkpoints.
While the sum of $282 million is massive, especially by Iraqi standards, it would fund less than one day of US expenses for operations in Iraq.
It is also far less than the estimated $1 billion alleged stolen by former regime officials from Iraq's central bank in 2003 as the US launched its bombing campaign in advance of the ground invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and the Ba'thist regime. The 2003 Baghdad robbery is considered by some to be the largest bank robbery in history.
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 7/13/2007 7:48:01 AM
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sadiq2006
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first the political border for syria is all wrong originaly syria is small because do not forget that they invaded the quarter of mesopotamia land so originally it is not big do not believe these political borders, the political borders should be erased from all the world because it is creating problems between the countries.
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 7/13/2007 11:18:13 AM
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azinorum
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quote:
sadiq2006
guys congratulations today there was a football match between iraq vs. australia, and guess what iraq won 3 goals and australia got only 1 goal, this a great time for the iraqis to be happy they played in bankok capital of thailand, i wish they always stays happy. 
A great result for the Iraqi team especially given the Aussies were fielding 2 major premiership players in Vaduka and Kewel. Mabruk ya isood al Rafedien.
PS: Sadiq, I think we got the message. By the way are you in Bangkok now?
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Religion + Politics = disaster
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 7/13/2007 11:22:56 AM
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YellowSunshine
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Political Borders are Man Made. Sigh
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Faith, Hope and Love, the Greatest of these is LOVE!!!
"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." George Orwell
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 7/14/2007 10:23:57 PM
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Lion of Babylon
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Dudes. Samawa was peacefull and thriving till the Mehdi Army decided to flex their muscles.
Samawa Tense as Arrest Warrants Announced
Authorities Seal off City, Seeking to Detain Sadrist Leaders
Local authorities in Samawa closed all entry points to the city on Friday, fearing possible infiltration of gunmen to the southern city following the issue of arrest warrants against Sadr's office chief and three of his aides in the city, security sources said, VOI reports.
"Security authorities closed, on Friday, all outlets to Samawa while all security forces went on alert fearing of security violations after reports warned of possible entry of gunmen to the city," a security source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
The source added "the measures were taken following intelligence reports that indicated such an entry."
Another security source said "arrest warrants were issued against Sadr's office chief in Samawa Ali al-Khersan, and a number of his aides including Sheikh Muhammed al-Khaqani, Sayyed Oday and Sheikh Aqeel."
The source told VOI "the arrest warrants issued under article 4 of anti-terror law on charges of involvement in the recent violent incidents in Samawa."
"The four will be referred to the Iraqi judiciary once they were arrested," he added.
The last two days had seen a wide-scale campaign of arrests against hundreds of the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi army on charges of involvement in the violent clashes that broke out last week in Samawa, the source added.
Last week, clashes broke out between fighters from the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi army and security forces where eight people were killed and 67 more wounded according to Iraqi police estimates.
Clashes have flared since then and tension has remained high in the city.
The source also added that some security elements that have links to the militiamen were also arrested," VOI reports.
Samawa, capital city of Muthanna province, is situated 175 miles south of Baghdad on the Euphrates River.
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 7/19/2007 12:26:03 AM
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Lion of Babylon
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Various reports from the Iraqi press.
Iraqi Papers Thur: The Sadrist Return
Sadrists Still Opposed to Oil Law, Turkey Intensifies Operations in the North
The return of the Sadrist bloc to the parliament, after 5 weeks of boycott, has shifted, anew, political balances in Iraq. While the Sadrist bloc (32 seats) may not have enough votes to shift the majority on the parliament’s floor, the presence of Sadrists will ease the task of gathering the required number of deputies to hold legislative sessions.
The bloc of Muqtada al-Sadr made sure that its return to the parliament not be interpreted as a signal of approval of al-Maliki’s government. The bloc’s spokesman, Baha' al-‘A'raji, said that special committees will be formed in the parliament to follow on the government’s fulfillment of its promises. “ (We use the parliament as a guarantor) because of the previous failed experiments with the government and its frequent breaking of promises and commitments,” al-‘A'raji clarified.
The “promises” mentioned by ‘A'raji are not of strategic importance: they include the government’s commitment to rebuild and protect the Shi'a shrines in Samarra, and a vague promise by the government “to enhance its performance,” according to ‘A'raji. But the symbolic banner of Samarra has been used by the Sadrist as a rallying cry to express public frustration against the current cabinet.
In parallel, Az-Zaman and al-Jazeera reported, the Sadrist Current organized a demonstration in downtown Baghdad protesting the government and its leadership. Protestors demanded better public services, and accused the government of not doing enough to protect citizens.
Pan-Arab al-Sharq al-Awsat commented on the Sadrist return and predicted, along with other media outlets, a similar move in the near future by the Sunni “Accord” front. The Sunni and Sadrist boycott had practically paralyzed the Iraqi parliament, whose remaining members could not gather enough MPs to fulfill the quorum.
The newspaper implied that the return of the Sadrists –and possibly the “Accord” front- is partly due to American “efforts” spent on creating better relations between the various Iraqi parties. The US diplomacy, al-Sharq al-Awsat added, aims at enabling the parliament to resume its legislative role in order to discuss and promulgate “important laws” in the near future.
Sadrists however, remain opposed to the Oil and Gas law, whose passing has become a major objective for Nuri al-Maliki. Further opposition to the law was expressed through a letter addressed to the parliament by “100 Iraqi oil experts” who urged MPs to “study the law ... and rectify its flaws.” The letter also stated that the newest rendition of the law “is better on the linguistic level,” but “retains the same essence” as the previous document.
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 8/6/2007 10:06:15 PM
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Lion of Babylon
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Petraeus’ "Hail Mary" Move
Militias Take the Field As the Clock Runs Down
It was about 3am in the woods somewhere in the North Carolina woods. Two weary and parched Special Forces candidates stumbled out of the trees into a clearing lit by firelight. Their goal after hiking over a dozen miles was to link up with a “guerilla” group who would provide them with water. The “G” chief would be happy to oblige...all they had to do was help him hang an unfortunate victim who sat cross-legged and bound at the base of a tree with a rope around his neck. Before they got their water the burly “G” chief insisted the two young candidates could help him make short work of the gruesome task. After all the man had been judged to be a criminal and needed to be executed pronto. One of the young Special Forces candidates, unused to role playing scenarios and exhausted by thirst and fatigue just shook his head and started laughing at the bizarre scene. Wrong decision. He was tossed out that night. The correct answer is that there is no correct answer other than not violating our basic military code of conduct. But the real lesson is how far do you go in helping others achieve their goals before you compromise your own?
Special Forces training is unique but it is rooted in past experience and common sense. The Army looks for men who can think on their feet, deal with shades of grey but always maintain a focus on the mission. The mission in counterinsurgency is to build an opposing force using natural or paid locals and then if successful, integrate those groups into a peaceful, political framework. Often the experience can be like learning to fly a plane while its crashing other times it’s a giddy feeling of Kiplingesque king-making like the same “A” teams who were flown in to topple the Taliban in the winter of 2001. Back then the idea was to get as many teams on the field as possible and then back the winner. Once the Taliban was vanquished we could invent a hero, slap an aborted lamb fetus hat on his head, a Western suit covered by an Uzbek overcoat and voila, instant multi-ethnic leader.
Iraq delivered or provided none of that clarity or leadership. Partly because it was handed to “Big Army” to win a war that some say we should have finished over a decade earlier. Round Two in Iraq seemed the harder we worked the messier the game became. The more we pushed the players to form a team, the more they fought amongst themselves. Our new tactic of blaming the Iraqis for failure after we bombed, overthrew, disassembled and then rebuilt is not entirely convincing considering we still have 150,000 troops in the middle of what appears to be a world class domestic squabble. So perhaps if we changed direction by exploiting divisions instead of ignoring them, things might follow their natural course. But now all over Iraq from Kurdistan to al Anbar to Baghdad, Special Force teams are back to basics.
Finally Iraq By The Book
After pretending to ignore the ISG list of fixes, it was reassuring to see the Bush administration quietly begin to turn their Titanic-like Iraq strategy around opting instead for new thinking, new leadership and even beginning talks with Iraq’s neighbors. They even pulled their brightest desk-bound star off of the bench and sent him into the game as the star quarterback. After the media-heavy success in Mosul, Petraeus was sent to Kansas for a time out where he worked on the new counterinsurgency manual among other things. Its not surprising that downtime contributed to Petraeus' sagacious view of the current confusion that is Iraq.
There is no argument that General Petraeus is the man to watch. He not only has the full support of this administration but he is allowed to be unconventional. Something counterinsurgency demands. Petraeus stormed on to the field (press in tow) and begin to go head to head with a kaleidoscope of problems, grudges, disagreements, screw-ups, finger pointing and inaction. At first it was hard to determine if the opposing team was our own divisive government, the insurgency or the bureaucratic Iraqi government monster we had created in a few short years
The General was being told to "fix it" by an administration that had previously charted their course more on faith and bluster rather than logic and results. A predominately Shia government sat immobile, cloistered in the Green Zone while letting the US do most of the dirty work of eliminating Sunni extremists. Meanwhile the same government looks the other way while Shia extremists carry out ethnic cleansing. Was there, is there, could there be a “solution” in which every action has a reaction and every in-action has a reaction? The first administration-mandated play was the “Surge”. A naive assumption doing more with more and putting troops on the ground would stop the killing. It simply shifted the killing from the freshly occupied areas into the hinterlands. But one thing was clear...after years of back and forth, the ball was in play again.
But for how long? The “surge” didn’t quite work out the way it was planned, delayed deployments by Iraqi elements, spotty ground presence all against a ticking rotation clock made surge results seem positive if you were driven to the right spot at the right time but almost inconsequential if not. The early attempts to show shopping trips and good news stories are quickly countered by spectacular car bombs and a droning death toll of Iraqis and Americans. Parsing doesn’t work when it comes to Bush’s original mandate for victory, selected metrics aren’t convincing when the media ignores “Nothing Happened In Fallujah Today" and runs with the bomb of the day story.
The preliminary sense of ”victory” may be the calm before the storm. The insurgents also read the New York Times and watch CNN. They know that Bush is losing support and is quickly running out of time. They are banking on the classic American cut and run scenario like Vietnam or Afghanistan where once our national interest or initial goal is met, we are gone. An argument can be made for a Beirut-style bloodbath once US troops begin their withdrawal. So what do to to smoke out insurgents, keep them off balance and stop the Iraq disaster from congealing into bloody mass of warring factions and torpid leadership?
So it appears that under time pressures, Petraeus has chosen the Hail Mary or Gordian Knot solution: Cut through the complicated political and sectarian web we have spun ourselves into and start fresh...and at ground level. Or in other words: Do the best you can with what you have within the time that you have.
The Enemy of My Enemy
His solution? Stick as many guns into as many hands as fast as possible appears to be the new ground strategy. Current US and Iraqi ground presence is not sustainable. So why not invite the spectators from the bleachers to play on your team as well? These new players are known as “Emergency Response Units” aka “Salvation Councils" aka "Legitimate Resistance Forces" aka local militias, mercenaries, armed gangs, tribal fighters or whatever. The solution harks back to the most basic counterinsurgency strategy: Divide and conquer or “If everyone is fighting each other they won’t have time to fight us.”
The CIA and the military are now busy calving off more and more local fighting groups to create a bewildering mix of Shia, Sunni, tribal, regional and even neighborhood armies. As long as they aren’t “the bad guys” (not really a label used in counterinsurgency since technically they are all bad and good guys) then that leaves smaller and smaller groups of insurgents left to fight. Even if they were or are bad guys, keeping them inside the tent is still a better prospect than wondering what they are doing outside the tent. Armies consisting of illiterates, criminals, drop-outs and former insurgents are being armed and trained and paid between $100 and $300 per mission to join the fray.
ERU’s are created by large financial payments to sheikhs who must provide manpower for the free guns and training or through local power brokering to once terrified citizens is another and simple survivor-like “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” logic provides the rest. Sometimes ad hoc armies are created by kicking open the back of a truck and handing out ammunition, food and medical supplies.
These tribal, ethnic or local militias are in effect glorified death squads. Groups who use their newly-found violent powers with little restraint to push out what they believe are hostile elements. Just one look at what we have wrought in Iraq brings back memories of Liberia or Albania. Ragged bands of oddly dressed civilians carrying brand new heavy machine guns, RPG’s and AK’s...with nary a clue on how to use them other than they can now use them on full auto with impunity or concern for ammo costs. You might notice that these homespun Iraqi militias are using identical weapons to those we gave the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan... and they are the same weapons we worked so hard to hand them back over when the fight was over. As one Iraqi politician Sami al-Askari commented in the CSN ""What the Americans are doing is very risky and unwise. They are planting the seeds for future wars," ,
The re-building of the Iraqi police and the Army was a great idea at the time but the concept of the Iraqi’s standing up so that we could stand down went out the window months ago. Currently there are 346,000 Iraqi soldiers and police trained and in play, US troops can deliver around 150,000 men with about 10 to 15% being actually trigger pullers. The ERU’s supposedly number 25,000 which if the above tooth-to-tail ratio is considered is a pretty healthy number of armed men thrown into the fight. If the full head count of the ERU’s actually show up to fight, that’s an armed-on-the-street force equal to the US and half of the available Iraqi forces in raw manpower, if not skills. The good news is that we track these hometown Rambos with biometrics and insist that they will be integrated into the police or army but right now there is a free-for-all that is sending the most hardened insurgents scampering for cover.
Barrier to Entry Lowered
The other bright spot is the impact that arming every Abdul, Omar and Harry will have when and if neighboring countries need to begin stabilization efforts. Having a menu of fractious easy-to-buy groups with pliant warlords makes Saudi, Syrian, Jordanian, Iranian and even tribal involvement easier and cheaper. The free-market/swarm concept of hundreds of regional militias may be exactly the grass roots stability solution we are looking for...or our worst nightmare. The new entreprenurialization of warfare on the streets of Iraq also puts extraordinary pressure on the sclerotic and ponderous Iraqi government to shore up their crumbling power bases. The U.S has effectively spent years centralizing power by disarming and is now rapidly decentralizing that power by arming locals.
This new energy coupled with the diplomatic overtures being made by a once stone-faced administration means that the ball is being moved in the right direction and the Hail Mary move may be the one the administration was praying for and the Iraqis fear the most. Finally Special Forces teams are now shifting from being Big Army's 3am door knockers to doing what they do best.
Oh and the guy with the rope around his neck? The SF team was able to convince the “G” chief that it would be in his interest not to hang him... if we wanted the continuing support of Uncle Sam. After all money does talk.
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RE: Wife swapping Mehdi Army - 8/7/2007 6:05:15 PM
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