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Kidnapped governor of troubled Iraq province freed (Al Qaeda BLINKED!)
Reuters ^ | 15 May 2005

Posted on 05/15/2005 9:37:18 AM PDT by Dog

BAGHDAD - Insurgents have freed the governor of Iraq’s rebellious Anbar province after kidnapping him last week, an Interior Ministry official said on Sunday.

Raja Nawaf had been abducted with four bodyguards on the road from the town of Qaim near the Syrian border to the rebel stronghold of Ramadi by followers of Al Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, after a dispute with the governor’s tribe, relatives had said.

Anbar province is the heartland of Iraq’s insurgency.

On Saturday, American troops ended Operation Matador, a week -long offensive in northwest Anbar aimed at rooting out guerrillas and foreign militants.

The US military said it lost nine troops and killed 125 guerrillas.


TOPICS: Breaking News; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: hostages; iraq
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To: cherokee1

No, I missed it. What was the crack about uniforms?

I could imagine the start of Condis conversation with Assad.

"Whats up, You ruinious heap to be?"


81 posted on 05/15/2005 12:39:15 PM PDT by No Blue States
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To: No Blue States

"Good, Im glad we are not playing PC about the sovereignty of Syrias border when they allow it to be the terrorist highway to Iraq."

By all indications, our POTUS and DoD has made it clear to Assad he must stop playing around, and use his forces to help minimize foreign influence in Iraq via. his borders. I cannot remember the Syrian general's name that supposedly was put in charge of organizing Syrian intel/mil to start rounding up known Saddam loyalist that work out of Syria, etc.. We yet to see any news on this issue. But Assad has to be wondering how long he has before more then a platoon or so of Marines enter his country. Beyond this, as Schultz might say.........I know nothing......
Just in case you have not found these sites:

http://billroggio.com/
http://belmontclub.blogspot.com/
http://www.theadventuresofchester.com/

Three you may find usefull. I suspect you may already be aware of them.


82 posted on 05/15/2005 12:42:42 PM PDT by Marine_Uncle
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To: No Blue States

"So, Grampa Akmed---what did you do in the war against the Great Satan? Well, Little Buttrocker, first I was trained extensively in Newsweek Coocooran flushing, Then I went to defeat the infidel in the cradle of civilization but was discouraged by ungrateful native Iraqi tribal scum who shared not their weapons. I gracefully declined their final offer to car bomb myself into virginland and retired here to the land of goatmilk and honeybutter and oil money! Yellow yukbar!


83 posted on 05/15/2005 12:53:50 PM PDT by cherokee1 (skip the names---just kick the buttz)
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To: Marine_Uncle

Thanks for those (now bookmarked) links.

Interesting Z story on the 4th rail.


84 posted on 05/15/2005 12:59:42 PM PDT by No Blue States
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To: No Blue States

In a Washington briefing a few days ago Gen. Conway mentioned that many of the kills in Qaim were "uniformed." When questioned later tho he wouldn't/couldn't say whether any nation was indicated or whether they were dressed in mish-mash army surplus clothing. The only actual disclosure was that they were dressed in military style clothing with a more or less common source as opposed to rags and civvies.


85 posted on 05/15/2005 1:00:44 PM PDT by cherokee1 (skip the names---just kick the buttz)
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To: cherokee1

LOL!!!


86 posted on 05/15/2005 1:06:07 PM PDT by No Blue States
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To: No Blue States

"Thanks for those (now bookmarked) links. Interesting Z story on the 4th rail."

Do take notice on the right hand side frame, "Recent Entries, and "Articles by Category", etc. Chester's site often links to this one and others that do seem to contain folks who know what the deal is. I tend to trust Chester since he is an ex Marine Corps. officer. He has nothing to hide or distort.


87 posted on 05/15/2005 1:06:53 PM PDT by Marine_Uncle
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To: cherokee1

Was the implication that these were uniformed Syrian soldiers?

If So, I dont get it with Sryia. Do they think we will forget how they helped kill our young men in Iraq.


88 posted on 05/15/2005 1:10:43 PM PDT by No Blue States
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To: Marine_Uncle

Oh thanks, Now I can see what others said of the wounded Z story.


89 posted on 05/15/2005 1:12:23 PM PDT by No Blue States
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To: No Blue States

"Oh thanks, Now I can see what others said of the wounded Z story."

Your quite welcome. Just one more and I will stop bothering you, you got more sites to keep your brain whizzing around for a few weeks...... This one at Forth Site "slam dunks", what some at our forum continue to piss and moan about, regarding total lack of Syrian cooperation. I complain for better work on their part but......as much of the L/MSM and elsewhere reported "way back", they are not totally playing us as a fiddle, or so it could appear....... Peace.

http://billroggio.com/archives/middle_east/syria/index.php


90 posted on 05/15/2005 1:20:59 PM PDT by Marine_Uncle
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To: DevSix; Dog

I think that the release of the 'governor' unharmed is very revealing. If he was in any way on OUR side he would have been killed for sure, so we can reasonably estimate that he is not exactly an enemy of the terrorists. Whether he is actively on their side or merely tries to co-exist with them, he has to be treated by us with extreme suspicion. At the very least, he has not been helping to solve the problem for us, else they would have killed him in a heartbeat!!


91 posted on 05/15/2005 1:27:49 PM PDT by Enchante (Kerry's mere nuisances: Marine Barracks '83, WTC '93, Khobar Towers, Embassy Bombs '98, USS Cole!!!)
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To: Marine_Uncle
Thank you for the great links, far from bothersome is such good info. Interesting and logical opinions on Syrias undesirable position. And what a gem here explaining the nonsense from the left:

While the Left still focuses on Wars for Oil and pipelines, the revenge of the stupid son, phony death tolls in Iraq, American Imperialism, LIES about WMD, BusHitler’s failed diplomacy and a host of other nonsense, real change is occurring in the Middle East - democratic change from Afghanistan and Iraq to Lebanon and Egypt. Perhaps the Left can explain how these changes would have occurred without the commitment to fight in Iraq.

92 posted on 05/15/2005 1:39:04 PM PDT by No Blue States
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To: No Blue States

Conway tried hard to leave it in "neutral" but two conclusions, at least, are unavoidable:
1. The uni's were not old Iraqi army or he would have said so.
2. With the claim of 2500 Saudis to work with as well as previous Syria/Saddam cooperation/sales documented there has to be some truth/involvement between Saudi Arabia and Syria.


93 posted on 05/15/2005 1:47:09 PM PDT by cherokee1 (skip the names---just kick the buttz)
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To: No Blue States

Glad you found the sites of use. Hope more folks of the "one line comments", notice when these type links are advertised.
And this comment is in no way directed at you of course, quite the opposite. Enjoy.


94 posted on 05/15/2005 1:52:00 PM PDT by Marine_Uncle
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To: nuconvert; Ernest_at_the_Beach
Nothing special.

He made the claim-which in retrospect, has been by confirmed by events-that this kidnapping was a farce, staged by tribal elements linked to the neo-Ba'athists, working in concert with foreign-imported jihadis.

Essentially, that it was a tactical bluff, calculated to elicit a response from the United States that was never going to happen.

They never would have killed someone who was intimately linked with a powerful Sunni tribe.

Like I said, he was right.

Wonder of wonders.

:7)

-good times, G.J.P. (Jr.)

95 posted on 05/15/2005 3:12:56 PM PDT by Do not dub me shapka broham ("What in the world happened to Gerard's tag-line?")
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To: ChicagoRepublican

It could just be a group of thugs not even affiliated with al Qaeda jumping on the bandwagon and looking for some easy money. Whether they got paid or not, we don't know. But I couldnt see AQ not taking the chance to kill someone.


96 posted on 05/15/2005 3:14:43 PM PDT by Zeppelin (Keep on FReepin' on.....)
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To: Do not dub me shapka broham

Hmmmm!!!

I guess we may never really know...


97 posted on 05/15/2005 3:22:38 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach (This tagline no longer operative....floated away in the flood of 2005 ,)
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To: Da Mav
I suspect this guy was giving information to the insurgency as to where we were and how we were going to attack,don't you all remember how we kept making raids but finding only military supplies someone from this providence has been tipping them off
98 posted on 05/15/2005 3:50:38 PM PDT by David L Walker straightheart (Poem of Fantasy)
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To: ChicagoRepublican

There is more to the story. The "more" is the fact that we didn't have to go into Al Qiam itself, because the locals were mad about their gov being taken hostage and the local warlord was helping root out the terrorists in the town.

Without the support from the locals, even by extortion, means the terrorists would have been in much worse shape going forward if they did kill a duly elected official!

This is above my pay-grade, but I say we ARE winning!


99 posted on 05/15/2005 4:42:30 PM PDT by SFC Chromey (Panama, Bosnia, Iraq, where next? I say retreat through Iran, then flank west through Syria!)
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To: ChicagoRepublican

There is more to the story, and that's the reason why it's a sign of weakness: the more is very simple, and doesn't require classified intelligence to piece together: blood feud.

This shows that the AQ insurgents

1. believe the governor's clan would launch a blood feud to avenge him, in spite of Koranic injunctions against helping infidels (which could be used as an excuse not to follow tradition, in this case, and launch a blood feud).

2. his clan is powerful enough that a blood vendeta by them added to the pressure from Iraqi government and coalition forces would destroy the insurgency, if not outright, at least to such a degree that it could not hinder the establishment of effective government control in all the provinces.

Thus, not directly, but indirectly, this is a sign of weakness.


100 posted on 05/15/2005 6:53:01 PM PDT by The_Reader_David (Christ is Risen! Christos Anesti! Khristos Voskrese! Al-Masih Qam! Hristos a Inviat!)
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