Posted on 03/31/2007 5:20:39 PM PDT by jmc1969
Sunni insurgent groups that were previously allied with Al-Qaeda in Iraq have turned against it, killing its leaders, attacking its supporters and vowing to drive it out of the country.
At least two Al-Qaeda commanders have been killed by Iraqi insurgents in Baghdad. Others have been forced to flee after insurgents passed their details to US and Iraqi commanders. Fierce fighting has broken out between insurgent groups and Al-Qaeda in Anbar province, west of Baghdad.
Some senior Sunni insurgents believe that Al-Qaeda in Iraq shares the agenda of Iranian-backed Shi’ite militias to plunge the country into ever more violent sectarian conflict rather than concentrating on the fight against the US-led coalition.
“Both Al-Qaeda and Iran seem to have an identical agenda to try to widen the sectarian split between Sunnis and Shi’ites, maintaining instability,” Abu Baker, a commander in the 20th Revolutionary Brigade, told The Sunday Times last week. “They stepped up their attacks on innocent Iraqi people and we could not accept that.”
A senior commander in the Islamic Army said Zubaie had promised not only to help to unify the Sunni groups but also to provide them with financial and logistical support to stop Iranian infiltration.
The insurgent groups set out to “cleanse” parts of Baghdad of Al-Qaeda influence. Shaker Zuwaini, an Al-Qaeda emir, was assassinated by the 20th Revolutionary Brigade in the Adel district of Baghdad. The emir of the Amiriya district was also killed and another commander was chased away from the Khadra district.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
red on red. beautiful.
They're a little slow, but eventually they have come to see the Big Picture. There isn't a Sunni country that would lift a finger to help the Iraqi Sunnis. Their only hope is that the Shiites don't go for a "Final Solution".
Of course the MSM just conflates this into the general "500 killed in a week in sectarian violence, what a disaster" media template.
Ping
Maybe this is in response to the Shites killing Sunnis execution style in response to the car bombings this past week. IMHO the Sunnis have had it too easy so far for their past attitude of giving some sanctuary to terrorists.
Exactly, no details in the press just the body count and how it is all GWB's fault.
I've dedicated this weekend to pointing out that the Democrats and the Iranian mullahs have similar agendas. Hence, it's interesting that the Sunni insurgents have detected a similar connection between al Qaeda and the Shia terrorists. By extension, then, it's also clear and interesting that the Democrats are eagerly working to give away the hugely important strategic nation of Iran over to the devils of al Qaeda and Iran, the Democrats' tacit allies in the WOB (War on Bush). If that seems too bold or too broad of a brush to paint with, consider that most Democrats still believe Jimmy Carter a pious saint (remember St. Jimmy was prominently seated next to their other hero Michael Moore at the last Democratic National Presidential Nomination?) even though he assured and never regretted the rise of today's mad mullahs who lead Iran's bullies and thugs who brutalize the Iranians with terror, disrupt Iraq's desire for democracy and peace with EFPs and training for the same that kills Americans and our allies in Iran, they aid those who kills Lebanese and thwart the Lebaneses' desire for democracy, and they aid Hezbollah with arms that target and kill Israelis civilians and IDF soldiers. Nothing can stop the Democrats and their allies in Iran, it seems.
It is not.
This civil war in the Sunni community has been building for some time.
The attack on Tal Afar was an attempt by al-Qaeda to re-ignite sectarian warfare between Sunnis and Shia. Which would al-Qaeda hopes force the Sunnis to stop attacking them and focus on the Shia.
btt
I've been hoping this would start for some time now. Think about it: Back in 2003/2004, a lot of Iraqis were suckered into the insurgency by smooth talkers like Moqtada al-Sadr and Zarqawi. "Yeah, stand up for Arab pride and kick the Americans out of Iraq!"
It probably sounded heroic and cool at the time. So this hotheaded Iraqi man joins up. He starts passing messages to the insurgents, reports anyone cooperating with the Americans so they can be targeted for execution, he makes notes on coalition force patrol routes and troop strength. If he sees IED's being planted he looks the other way. Maybe he even hides insurgents in a secret basement - sitting on the trapdoor while US Marines search his house.
But these days, the insurgents are indiscrimminately slaughtering Iraqis by the hundreds. So this idealistic guy who was helping the insurgents - maybe one day he sends his wife and son off to the market to buy fruit...and they get blown up, along with a hundred other random people. And they get blown up by the same insurgents he's been helping for years.
Yes, he deserves it. No question. Any arab jerkoff who had a hand in even one attack on an American deserves to die. You won't hear me making excuses for him!
BUT...after his family gets blown up by insurgents, is he going to help the insurgents next time? I doubt it. These bombers are alienating their support network every day with their stupid random bombings.
I've been hoping that the Iraqi people will start to turn against them, and certain recent articles seem to support this hypothesis. When anyone suspected of being an insurgent is torn to pieces in the street by an angry mob, then you'll know victory is at hand.
"These bombers are alienating their support network"
Hope so. Pray this is so.
Were this chaos present hereabouts, I wonder what folks would do. It is difficult to imagine trying to raise a family of free Iraqis in Iraq now, especially Christians. I shouldn't guess almost everyone there has blood on their hands or in their nostrils.
You speak with such conviction for someone who just signed on as a "Newbie"? thanks for sharing your great wisdom with us- NOT.
bookmark
First they have to stop fearing them and conclude that they can safely turn against them. That's where the surge comes in. If they can stabilize the situation sufficiently that these guys come to the conclusion they can stand up for themselves and live through it, the turnabout will be remarkable.
Yeah well, I read somewhere that the coalition forces allowed every Iraqi home to keep one AK-47 for self-defense. They need to start using them on the insurgents.
See a guy drive into the alley across the street and start setting up a mortar to fire into the Green Zone, blow him away!
See someone setting an IED, blow him away! It's the only way the ordinary Iraqi people will be free of this random slaughter.
BOOM
It's certainly taken long enough, hasn't it!
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