Posted on 07/03/2005 6:11:16 PM PDT by saquin
American troops on the Syrian border are enjoying a battle they have long waited to see - a clash between foreign al-Qa'eda fighters and Iraqi insurgents.
Tribal leaders in Husaybah are attacking followers of Abu Musab Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born terrorist who established the town as an entry point for al-Qa'eda jihadists being smuggled into the country.
The reason, the US military believes, is frustration at the heavy-handed approach of the foreigners, who have kidnapped and assassinated local leaders and imposed a strict Islamic code.
Fighting, which could be clearly heard at night over the weekend, first broke out in May when as many as 50 mortar rounds were fired across the city. But, to the surprise of the American garrison, this time it was not the target.
If a shell landed near the US base, "they'd adjust their fire and not shoot at us", Lt Col Tim Mundy said. "They shot at each other."
The trigger was the assassination of a tribal sheikh, from the Sulaiman tribe, ordered by Zarqawi for inviting senior US marines for lunch. American troops gained an insight into the measures the jihadists had imposed during recent house-to-house searches in nearby towns and villages.
Shops selling music and satellite dishes had been closed. Women were ordered to wear all-enveloping clothing and men forbidden from wearing western clothes.
Anyone considered to be aiding coalition forces was being killed or kidnapped. That included those with links to the government - seen as a US puppet - such as water or electricity officials. As a result local services had collapsed.
Captain Thomas Sibley, intelligence officer of 3rd battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, based in Qaim, said: "People here were committed supporters of the insurgency but you cannot now even get a marriage licence.
"The tribes are the only system or organisation left and they appear to have stepped in.
"In the last week our camp in the town was attacked and the attackers got ambushed on the way back by two machineguns and mortar fire. That is good news for us."
Baghdad recently warned that Iraqi insurgents, many of them nationalists rather than Islamists, and al-Qa'eda cells were working more closely together than in the past. That was brought into doubt when the bodies of three foreigners, believed to be insurgents, were discovered in Ramadi, apparently killed by Iraqis.
But the extent of the jihadist presence in Hasaybah - and therefore the subsequent tension - is unique.
Foreign fighters first started to arrive two years ago after Zarqawi bought properties to use as safe houses for arrivals before they could be funnelled east towards Baghdad and other major cities.
The police fled in November. In mid-June, al-Qa'eda units took over key buildings, including mosques and government offices. "Al-Qa'eda in Iraq" flags were raised.
The city, 240 miles north-west of Baghdad and adjacent to the insurgent centre of Qaim, is so dangerous that soldiers in the US base sleep in bunkers because of mortar and rocket attacks.
Following al-Qa'eda's seizure of the main buildings a number of residents fled. Arkan Salim, 56, who left with his wife and four children, said: "We thought they were patriotic. Now we discovered that they are sick and crazy.
"They interfered in everything, even how we raise our children. They turned the city into hell, and we cannot live in it anymore."
Happy Fourth of July! Good News! Don't miss it. Hanky panky, terrorists get spanky spanky in the desert!
Nam Vet
That is good news, but I don't expect the Iraqi insurgents to be our new best buddies or anything. Not trying to be a downer here, but they probably can only fight one enemy at a time. They picked the ones that are making them most miserable RIGHT NOW. Tomorrow...it'll be us.
We were expecting something like this. Those #$%& terrorists keep track of holidays and anniversaries.
Hey, guys! Over here!
Many thanks for the ping! This is very interesting reading.
Thanks for the ping!
I will give NYT partial credit. This is not page one news so many people will never have the opportunity to read this. This would not grab their attention the way front cover would just like the prison abuse scandals last year.
Agreed. It's buried but not spiked.
Iraqis are fighting Zarqawi, who is an al-Qaeda terrorist born in Jordan, and the other foreigners he is bringing in over the border to attack our side. CIVIL War? I don't think so.
If they loved our enemies, they might be disillusioned. But love isn't their motivation; hatred is. They hate liberal civilization, and therefore hate America, it's highest embodiment.
Their hatred stems from the utopian idealism that has characterized the left since its inception. They will always hate any embodiment of the free society because, unlike the utopia, it will always be imperfect.
Our external enemies, the militant islamic terrorists, are utopians too. Although their fantasy world is totally incompatible with that of the left, the first steps toward achieving it are the same: You can't evolve the utopia from the real world. It's a revolutionary creation which requires that the real world first be swept away. Nihilism -- hatred of the world and a desire for its destruction -- always goes hand-in-hand with utopianism.
Thus the islamist extremists and the hard left hate us in the name of very different ideologies, yet for the same reason. We, by living in freedom, even by merely existing, stand in the way of their fantasies.
At long last the light dawns.
Red on Red ping!
Sorry, didn't complete the thought in the previous message...
So, Western leftists, even if they aren't presently willing to go so far themselves, will always experience a thrilling identification with active nihilists, those who actually set about sweeping away the existing order. In the sixties they called it "radical chic": Middle class American leftists thrilling over airplane hijackers and murdering Black Panthers. They just can't help it.
I'm a Navy brat. :-) Mom's family is up in NH, while Dad's family came from just south of you in TX.
Well --we can all dream . It would be great to see Iraq become a model for all the Middle Eastern countries. A Democracy working for the good of their people. Its a bit hard for an American to understand why any sane person would go to a neighboring country and commit suicide , killing innocent women and children and call themselves martyrs. Thats why I believe insanity is one of the basic tenets of a cult like Islam.
Just a bunch of ignorant tribesmen.
Nonsense, our soldiers knew full well the sort of oppression that was being laid out. But an otherwise good article, thanks for posting it. Ping.
This is the first article I've read that distinguishes between AQ terrorists and Iraqi insurgents. Very good.
They have a policy about reporting any positive news from Iraq.
Any New York Times reporter attempting to do so will be immediately terminated.
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