Partners in terror

The recent arrest and confessions of Hamed Jumaa Farid al-Saeedi shines an uncomfortable light (uncomfortable for those who warned such cooperation wasn't possible due to ideological differences) on what many observers of the Iraq war warned wasn't possible: Cooperation between Iraqi Baathists loyal to secular Saddam Hussein and religiously fanatic al-Qaeda.

al-Saeedi, also known as Abu Humam or Abu Rana, told his captors that he has been "'responsible for more attacks than he can remember' and has been involved in the insurgency almost from its beginning three years ago," according to officials. al-Saeedi admitted that "Al Qaeda in Iraq was cooperating with supporters of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein 'in the fields of exchanging information and logistic support (as has been documented here and here).'"

Reporters and residents in Baghdad did not need the confessions of al-Saeedi to know who was behind much of the anti-civilian violence, as evidence of the intertwined trail of terror being left by the Saddam loyalists and al-Qaeda was becoming increasingly evident.

IWPR's Zaineb Naji recently wrote from Baghdad that local neighborhoods are reporting that Saddam Hussein loyalists and al-Qaeda/Salafists have been trying to violently implement Islamic law on local communities, to control and intimidate these areas, with the broader hopes of turning Iraq into an Islamic state (similar plans were also mentioned repeatedly by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi just before his death).

Omar, of "Iraq the Model's", recent trip in Baghdad brought him details of what locals have seen in their neighborhoods regarding the violence used on civilians by both al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein loyalists. Before an attempt to travel home after a funeral, one of Omar's relatives told him and his father of al-Qaeda's growing local presence. "At this point we began to realize the true identity of those young men and we began to believe that they became part of al-Qaeda" he said while describing the dangers of travelling locally. Omar's relative also relayed that "they belong to a few of the Sunni tribes and their chief is the son of former big head in Saddam's government."

Those who were most "efficient" at terrorizing Iraq for decades (Saddam Hussein's regime) are continuing to do so both directly (IED's, kidnappings, roadblocks, executions, etc) and indirectly via their continued support for al-Qaeda (logistical support, information, money, safehouses, etc.) wishing to set up a new version of fascism in Iraq, a Sunni Islamic state.

Hopefully catching this piece of trash will lead to some really hard raids on remaining AQIR as well as remaining key Saddamists. I have a strong hunch that as the Iraqi police, special army commando teams continue to work with the US forces they are going to bust up the remaining key cells and money operators. For all we know, there may only be a few hundred ex-Iraqi intel, special Fedeyeen, and some other military officers loyal to Saddam left at this point that really are supporting the insurgency in a big way.
IMHO, I believe it is misleading to assume a million Sunni are going to support the insurgency. Surely many of the cities, towns, villages in al Anbar which was loaded with ali babba in 2004/2005, now want no parts of the insurgency, nor anything to do with foreign forces (they learned the hard way).
Notice we have not heard from special forces SOCOM task forces in months. I bet they are cleaning up behind the scenes, and the L/MSM reporters and perhaps the Iraqi press are not aware of a lot of scum bags getting captured and cells busted up. At any rate thanks for the ping. I gotta hit the rack. Work comes early tommorow.

The alliances between insurgents, i.e. non-state actors has more to do with cultural compatibility than it does Western categories such as - Sunni, Shi’i, Iraqi, Irani, Syrian, Bathist, Al-Qaeda, IRGC and so on. The West is at war with an ideology fed by a blend of lies about the West, ME nationalism, self victimization, ME solidarity, Islamic righteousness, and petroleum revenue. The architecture of the threat can be seen if Westerners are willing to see it. The threat resembles fascism but there are no hard and fast rules of thumb Western officials can use to formulate policy.

This is why I believe the West is likely to lose the GWOT. Not today, not tomorrow but in the centuries ahead. Westerners should start thinking millennially if they have an ambition to win the GWOT. I fear they don’t. Most Westerners have trouble remembering what happened yesterday! Ask yourself, how socially repugnant is it when a Westerner articulates the superiority of their ideology? Is it not rare when a Westerner articulates their ideology at all? –These are not trivial problems…

Jeffersonian genius expects Westerners to make room for the expression of many ideologies in society. This is a beautiful concept that has made America strong, but not indefinitely. Jefferson saw the power of an ideologically competitive society. Unfortunately, Westerners today have misunderstood Jefferson’s major premise. Westerners often abstain from voicing their own ideology in their own society. This is dangerous! I forecast the West will lose the GWOT precisely because it is absent at home and abroad from the real war, the war of ideas. The ideological battlefield is utterly dominated by fascists and there is no Western force capable of confronting the fascist threat today, much less defeating it.

The point is, GWOT threats are ambiguous and often amorphous threats. They arise directly from the ambiguities of ME society. This is why Western categories are likely to cost more innocent lives than they save. One cannot resolve an ambiguous problem simply by organizing arbitrary categories. In any case, the answer to this problem is clear. The west needs an ideological army. The West needs to take the asymmetric war to the enemy’s doorstep. An ideological army can defeat asymmetric threats where superior technology alone cannot. After reading G. Washington, Admiral Lord Nelson, Machiavelli, Clausewitz, Mao, Peter the Great, Sun Tzu, Imam Ali, Che Guerra I believe Mao’s guerrilla tactics could work splendidly for the committed Jeffersonian – in the ME. The question is, can the West train and deploy Jeffersonians to the battle space? If the West started today, my pessimism would immediately change to optimism. The West could flip the ideological advantage overnight! Make no mistake, without the will to win our ideological fight – a cruel destiny awaits us all.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.