34 Ba'ath Party loyalists now form command structure of Iraq insurgency

Geostrategy Direct ^ | Janurary 24th, 2005

[FreedomNeocon]

34 Ba'ath Party loyalists now form command structure of Iraq insurgency
Janurary 24th, 2005
http://www.geostrategy-direct.com

BAGHDAD — The U.S. military has determined that 34 senior officials in the former Saddam Hussein regime have formed a command of the Sunni insurgency in Iraq.

In December 2004 the U.S. military revised its assessment of the Sunni insurgency command. The revisions resulted from the U.S. invasion in Fallujah in November, during which troops discovered documents in insurgency strongholds that identified leaders of the exiled Saddam movement.

The information from Fallujah bolstered the belief that Saddam operatives, rather than Islamic volunteers, were responsible for the lion's share of attacks against the coalition and Iraqi military and security forces.

U.S. officials said the 34 were regional leaders of the former ruling Ba'ath Party, many of whom fled to Syria in 2003 when the Saddam regime collapsed. They said that over the last 18 months the Ba'athists have financed and directed the Sunni insurgency against the U.S.-led coalition and the interim government in Baghdad.

The 34-member command is believed responsible for a nationwide network that focused on four Sunni-dominated provinces of Iraq. The network coordinated strategy with the pro-Saddam insurgency, officials said.

Many of the Ba'athist members of the insurgency command have been operating in Damascus as well as along the Iraqi-Syrian border. Others were based in Tikrit, the hometown of Saddam.

"There is a level of tactical coordination and direction that still comes from the remnants of the Ba'ath Party, and I believe a certain amount of this tactical coordination effort is orchestrated from Syria," Central Command chief Gen. John Abizaid said.

In Baghdad, U.S. Army 10th Mountain Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team conducted two raids on insurgency strongholds in Baghdad on Jan. 11. The force detained two suspected insurgency cell leaders in western Baghdad, believed responsible for financing insurgency attacks and weapons trade.

The 34 Ba'ath leaders are regarded as comprising the paragon of the insurgency pyramid, particularly concerning the financing of operatives and support network.

Former Vice President Izzet Ibrahim Al Douri was believed to be the key financier of the Saddam-supported insurgency based in Syria. But officials said Al Douri was not the overall commander of the insurgency and doubted that such a position existed.

The Saddam operatives were drawn from former elite Iraqi Army units, including the Republican Guard and the Special Republican Guard.

Suicide bombers were often drawn from foreign Islamic volunteers recruited by Al Qaida-aligned groups led by Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi.

"I think there is a level of coordination between Zarqawi and some of the Ba'athist cells," Abizaid said. "There is a certain amount of coordination at a rudimentary level that goes on within Iraq. And there is certainly an organizational network within the Zarqawi terrorist network that shows an ability to organize terrorist activities across a broad range of targets in Iraq."

Members of the command included Al Douri and members of Saddam's family. Officials said Al Douri led a meeting of the insurgency command along the Iraqi-Syrian border in November 2004.

Officials have identified many of those at the insurgency summit, including Yasser Sabawi Hassan, Ramadan Jabouri, Ahmed Kaka, Mohammed Rijab Nasser, Mahdi Nasser Obeidi and Mohammed Yunis. Obeidi was said to have supervised Sunni insurgency finances while Yunis was identified as an aide of Al Douri.

Kaka has been a Sunni insurgency leader in Kirkuk, and Nasser was identified as the commander of the insurgency in Tikrit.

The 34-member command was also said to have conveyed orders to intensify attacks ahead of the Jan. 30 elections. Officials said the command was responsible importing and using car bombs and improvised explosive devices, deemed key weapons of the insurgency.

"We have been very clear to the Syrians about our unhappiness about Ba'athist cells operating from Syria," Abizaid said. "They have access to money, and they have access to smuggling routes."

But officials said the Defense Department has not acquired approval for a significant change in policy toward Syria, which has harbored the insurgency command. They said the Pentagon has been pressing the White House for permission to launch limited incursions into Syria against suspected Iraqi insurgency cells.

[garyhope]

Find em, kill em. Kill em again. Find their families, kill them too. Find their relatives, kill them too. Put their bodies in a helicopter, drop em on their local mosque.

[bayourod]

I think its time for a new deck of cards.

[pissant]

Are these guys as "accurate" as the Debka bunch?

[pgobrien]

I like your sensitive solution to these barbarians.
We may need to use extreme measures if these don't work. garyhope for CIC Iraq.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

They said the Pentagon has been pressing the White House for permission to launch limited incursions into Syria against suspected Iraqi insurgency cells.

Why not?

[ClaireSolt]

They may be close to cracking this, I think.

[pissant]

I pray it is so!

[garyhope]

Thanks, I've always been known as a kind, sensitive and compassionate kinda guy. Levelheaded and practical too.

When you want a sensible, middle of the road solution, I'm your go to guy.

[elhombrelibre]

The target needs to be Assad. We waste time and resources going after these clowns at a tactical level. We need to do to Assad what Reagan did to Qaddafi. Attack him personally. Let him see that his very life depends on his ending terrorism and sponsorship for it. "From now forward, you are either with us or against us in the war on terror." That's what president Bush said. And we all know what side Assad's been on. Now, he needs to reap what he's sown, a very violent attack. We owe it to the brave men in women taking risks every day in Iraq to have the cajones to go after this guy. He has the power to shut this insurgency down. We could spend a fortune there and lose many, many more Americans, or we can go after Assad.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

What do you mean by, "cracking this"?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Man they have some alarming headlines and this nugget:

Saddamists' strategy: Massive, coordinated attacks to keep voters at home

BAGHDAD — Saddam Hussein loyalists plan to launch massive and coordinated attacks during national elections, Iraqi officials say. The officials said military intelligence has obtained information from Sunni insurgents and Saddam loyalists that indicate a plan for major strikes against polling stations and voters on Jan. 30. The insurgents aim to stop Iraqi voters from leaving their homes on election day. "We're talking of a plan that would target both the Sunni and Shi'ite communities," an official said.

[garyhope]

Assad certainly needs a lesson. Lots of other guys in that region too. The Saudis, Mubarack, etc. I don't know why we're kidd gloving them.

[FreedomNeocon]

The story isn't much. Just that they don't know much, only that the insurgents think they can 'scare' people away with a few early (but massive) 'well placed' carbombs.

[elhombrelibre]

Well, we agree. But giving Assad a lesson might be a lesson not missed by his fellow dictators. Focus their minds on the ephemeral and precarious nature of life. Things can happen that shorten the life of a dictator. Things like a well place JDAM.

[FreedomNeocon]

Then again, there is this from last week...

The United States does not appear to have any plans to attack Syria.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/05/front2453389.2277777777.html


Officials said the Bush administration has agreed to an effort to undermine the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad. But they said President George Bush has not approved any military attack on Syria.

Officials said Syria continues to facilitate the flow of funds by Saddam-sponsored insurgents to operatives in Iraq. They said the funds have enabled Sunni insurgents to purchase weapons, Middle East Newsline reported.

Officials said the Defense Department has advocated limited military strikes on Syria to prevent the flow of insurgents and money into Iraq. But the White House has rejected the Pentagon plans.

"U.S. Special Forces are not going into Syria," Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said on Jan. 11. "It is simply fanciful."

"I don't think anybody's talking about counter-attacks or talking military attacks on Syrian targets," Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said.

Armitage returned from talks in Damascus with Assad in early January. He said the Assad regime has improved security and was stopping the flow of Islamic volunteers into Iraq sent to fight the U.S.-led coalition.

"That situation is much better, I think, because the Syrian authorities are stopping foreign fighters from going to Iraq," Armitage said. "What we'd like to see is much more activity by the Syrian authority and special services in stopping former regime elements from Iraq in traveling back and forth."

Armitage said the administration has warned Syria to halt the flow of financing and insurgents. But he said the Assad regime has responded to the U.S. appeals, adding that Damascus has demonstrated what he termed "a new seriousness about controlling the border."

"I think there's no question that they're busy financing from Syria," Armitage said. "I think it's a little hard to actually direct from Syria.

You'd have to be a little more involved. But the financing allows people to purchase weapons, to cause difficulties for the Iraqi people."

[pgobrien]

Back to our sensitive, middle of the road solution.......garyhope

[balk]

Just wait til this election goes down. If all goes well (ie: limited damage from the Sunnis/Zarqawis), the coalition can ramp it up a notch.

[SandRat]

Time to drain the Ba'ath tub and wipe it dry, bone dry.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Time to drain the Ba'ath tub and wipe it dry, bone dry.

ROFL! Good one!