Posted on 12/04/2006 7:31:28 AM PST by jmc1969
Sunni leaders in lawless western Iraq have formed a kind of citizen’s militia to combat sustained attacks by insurgent groups linked to al-Qaida.
Dubbed the Anbar Salvation Council, the group seeks to gather diverse tribal groups, political leaders and members of the police and other security forces.
By representing Sunnis who oppose al-Qaida groups leading the violent campaign in the province, the Salvation Council marks an important counter to the increasing sectarian divide within the country.
Already claiming some success in attacking al-Qaida-inspired forces, the Salvation Council is being seized on by the Iraqi and US governments as a possible means to restore some kind of order in the province.
The main objective of the Salvation Council is to oppose al-Qaida and put an end to their power in the west of Iraq. Representatives say that it was formed in October under the supervision of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
“We got full support from the government to terminate Takfiri groups [radical anti-government Islamists] all over the province,” claimed Fassal al-Gawod, a member of the Salvation Council who was formerly head of a provincial council in Anbar.
The Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP) is one of the key groups that broke the Sunni political boycott, supported the October 2005 constitutional referendum and decided to participate in the December 2005 parliamentary elections. Now it forms part of the Accord Front, the Sunni parliamentary bloc, and holds senior posts in the parliament and the government.
As a result, it has also become a prime target for al-Qaida, particularly in Anbar province. “Al-Qaida's agenda is against Sunni participation in any political process," said Abdul-Karim Mohammed, a senior IIP official. “The IIP is the first renegade and we will clean up Anbar of their Islam renegade ideology.”
(Excerpt) Read more at isn.ethz.ch ...
Sunnies = Nazi's.
Never should have left them there.
Sorry, but the Sunnis were from day one closer to being America's natural allies in Iraq then the Shia because the Sunnis are more educated and secular.
just watch this Sunni Army battalion and Sunni officer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxdQDveTKfU
Sunnies were the party of saddam and ran the prisons and rape rooms and ruled Iran with fear and terror. While around 20% of the society they controlled everything. Every other group has family and friends killed by them and today we have pay-back.
Excellent post.
That was Saddam's fault not all Sunnis fault. Saddam killed tens of thousands of Sunnis that didn't agree with this regime either. Blaming all the crimes of Saddam's regime on the Sunnis is something only a radical Shia nut would do.
The Sunnis are today.
1. More secular then the Shia.
2. More educated then the Shia.
3 Anti Iran.
4. Anti al-Qaeda.
Well, since I am not a "radical Shia nut" you are already wrong.
Should be Iraq, not Iran (I know it's a common typo).
I agree with you that the Sunnis (to the largest) part have to be blamed for the crimes and opression during the Baathist reign, but anyway we have to applaud and support them when fighting back against Al-Qaeda and other terrorists. We cannot and will not "kill them all"... We have to bring as many of them as possible to our, and the New Iraqi side. We need more Sunnis in Army and Police, to ensure sectarian balance and because there ARE many professional officials and soldiers among the Sunnis that have nothing or little to do with Saddam's crimes.
Blaming a whole population because a dictator comes to power in a military coup and becomes a tyrant is unproductive and stupid. Could the Russian people have overthrown Stalin? Maybe, if they all got together at the same time they could have, but that would have been amazingly difficult and unlikely nonetheless.
Stalin was the one who with his cronies got their hands on the sate apparatus of power and killed millions. Blaming the average half starved Russian for Stalin's brutality is laughable and stupid.
Its mindsets like yours edcoil that caused Bremer to disband the Iraq Army and police the single worst mistakes of the war.
With hopeful signs like this, it would be a real shame to pull out now, as the Dim-o-crat sissies are crying for.
Your mindset makes peace in a country like Iraq impossible.
If all Sunnis were responsable then the Shia are right to kill them and enslave them.
And, then the Sunnis would be right to plan their revenge from Jordan and elswhere.
Idiotic statements like blaming all Sunnis for Saddam's crimes or al-Qaeda's suicide attacks plays directly into the hands of sectarian monsters like Sadr and simply creates an endless cycle of hate and revenge.
US troops were being killed by insurgents backed by the Sunnis and their Al Qaida fighters. The Shiites kept out of the fight except for a small percent under Sadr. When the Sunni/AQ changed tactics by attacking the Shiites to provoke a civil war, the US urged restraint while Sadr sent in his death squads. From an average Shiite victim, the Iranian backed Sadr was giving them justice while the US backed government did nothing. In the first year of the occupation it was obvious to us that in the Baghdad area, the IED killing our troops were from Sunni fighters with AQ allies. We should have backed the Shiites and Kurds in attacking the Sunnis. Outnumbered 4-1 with US complacency the Shiite/Kurd forces would have a field day. This approach sends a message to the three main parties in Iraq, the first to cross the US, the US will let the other two factions kill them. Asking a Sunni to accept Shiite dominant government is like asking a KKK clansman to marry a beautiful rich black woman. Despite the advantages, the clansman can never get over her skin color. The Sunnis can never get over being ruled by a Shiite even if in a democracy.
Read Zarqawi's 2003 letter to Bin Laden sometime to see how little support the insurgency actually had in the Sunni community.
Zarqawi goal was to kill Shia with suicide bombers (a very easy thing to do). Which would cause them to strike back at all Sunnis. Which would make the Sunnis rely on the insurgency for survival against the Shia militias.
Maybe it might make for an endless cycle but your negotating with evil and allowing it to continue will keeps the current cycle in place.
Iraq today puts Saddam in a different light. Saddam did a good job of ruling a bunch of hyenas. No wonder he killed a few.
Iraq today puts Saddam in a different light. Saddam did a good job of ruling a bunch of hyenas. No wonder he killed a few.
The average Sunni just wants to live out his life, have a good job, and take care his family. The average Sunni wasn't going out at night and killing Sunnis and putting them in mass graves, hell most Sunnis had no idea it was happening as all access to the outside press was banned. Blaming the average Sunni for the crimes of Saddam's security services is idioic.
I meant to say killing Shia and Kurds.
"killed a few"
I usually ignore Saddam apologists, but genocide and killings in multiple hundreds of thousands cases (not to forget invading neighbouring countries) are more than "a few hyenas to keep in check"...
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