"You Rang?"
Posted on 09/05/2005 7:22:04 AM PDT by jmc1969
Abu Musab Zarqawi's foreign-led Al Qaeda in Iraq took open control of a key western town at the Syrian border, deploying its guerrilla fighters in the streets and flying Zarqawi's black banner from rooftops, witnesses, residents and others in the city and surrounding villages said.
A sign newly posted at the entrance of Qaim declared, "Welcome to the Islamic Kingdom of Qaim." A statement posted in mosques described Qaim as an "Islamic kingdom liberated from the occupation."
Zarqawi's fighters were killing officials and civilians seen as government-allied or anti-Islamic, witnesses, residents and others said. On Sunday, the bullet-riddled body of a woman lay in a street of Qaim. A sign left on her corpse declared, "A prostitute who was punished."
By the weekend, however, Zarqawi's forces had fought back and taken control of Qaim, residents said. Accounts from the town described a rare, prolonged overt presence of the foreign fighters.
The Albu Mahal tribe as of Sunday remained in control of its village outside the city. However, a car bomb placed by Zarqawi's fighters in front of the home of a tribal leader, Sheikh Dhyad Ahmed, killed the sheikh and his son on Sunday, resident Mijbil Saied said.
A Zarqawi fighter said any Marines and Iraqi forces had left Qaim, with "nothing left of their crosses."
Shops selling CDs, a movie theater and a women's beauty parlor were newly burned, apparently targeted by Zarqawi's group under its strict interpretation of Islamic law.
Zarqawi's fighters had taken control of the town's hospital, one of its medical workers, Dr. Muhammed Ismail, said. The hospital's director then ordered all patients to leave, fearing the presence of Zarqawi's fighters would draw air strikes on the clinic, Ismail said.
Zarqawi fighters manned checkpoints on the four entrances to the city.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
The aircraft are on the way, towelheads. Bend over, put your head between your legs, and kiss yurass good-bye.
BTW, when you pull your butts out of the rubble, I don't want to hear any of that "wedding party" nonsense.
I feel sorry for the people of Iraq, but the country does make good flypaper.
On one hand, the nutballs must know that all their resourses are being diverted to a losing cause. But on the other hand, when they lose, it will be a crushing psychological blow.
Troops may be holding Tal Afar
Send those Marines back with those F-18's. The problem will be solved.
You should also take alook at the recent reports on fighting in Tal Afar, which is also near the Syrian border. This fighting demonstrates that the insurgents have been pushed back and are fighting for their last remaining toeholds in Iraq. That would jibe with what happened in Mosul recently where the dominant Sunni tribe their attacked Zarqawi's followers after they starting killing Shiites in Mosul. Apparently, this resulted in the insurgents being pushed of Mosul and having to move westward to Tal Afar.
this is good - the flags will tell us which buildings to bomb.
this Al Qaim stuff has been going on for a long time, I don't understand the strategy there. cordon it off with no advance notice one night, screen civilians as they leave, destroy the town with airstrikes. maybe I don't see the whole picture.
...I guess the Post figures that the enemy of my enemy is my friend......
The obverse of this coin is "The friend of my enemy is my enemy" This sorts out to mean that the Post is my enemy as is John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, The Associated Press, ad infinitum.
By giving comfort to the enemy, they become the enemy.
"You Rang?"
Excellent now we can kill all the Zarqawi terrorists gathered in one town.
You may very well be right.
The political implications of treating this as a strictly military problem may lead to more lives lost than the currrent more restrained approach. The President must believe so.
I'm just haunted by the pattern that foreign governments are in greater danger by being friendly to America than by being hostile.
I understand that there is enemy support in those areas from locals, but the enemy efford would not survive if not for the outside support that enters Irq through Syria, Iran and possibly Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
The war efford can not be limmited to just the Iraqi and on a simmilar note to the Afghan borders. We have to go where the enemy is.
The last week when everything was about the Hurricane would have been an excellent time to take out many of the insurgents locales.
It is undeniable that the large-scale fighting has shifted west. It just doesn't occur anymore in Najaf or Baghdad or Fallujah (which is a hollowed-out shell of a city and an object lesson to all of the Sunni tribes in the west).
Those countries are in Catch-22 situations too. They have to make a choice between what they see as the lesser of two evils. In the not too distant past, the lesser of the evils was to side against the U.S. because they knew the U.S. leadership was chicken-Sh*& and wouldn't defend them. George Bush, as far as I can see right now, stands beside and behind our true allies. Those choosing against us know too that punishment will likely follow. While Dubya is POTUS, friends don't have to worry. But, they still have to realize that the tables could turn in 2008 and we could revert back to chicken-sh*&s if a DemocRAT becomes Commander-In-Chief.
If the DemocRATS are successful in dividing us (conservatives), they can conquer us as they did in both '92 and '96. That's the ONLY way Hellary will win...divide and conquer. I'm only one, but if I can help it, that won't happen.
I imagine Qaim is next. There's been trouble there for a long time.
we should bomb until we find and set off the stored WMD material
screw Al-Qaim, turn Damacus into a parking lot and put an end to this BS...
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