Posted on 08/22/2007 1:59:21 PM PDT by WBL 1952
Earlier today, the Italian news service AKI reported that the presumed leader of the largest insurgency in Iraq will start cooperating with the Iraqi government. Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, one of the highest-ranking members of Saddam Hussein's government, reportedly pledged to work with Iraqi and American forces to fight al-Qaeda in Iraq:
The leader of Iraq's banned Baath party, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, has decided to join efforts by the Iraqi authorities to fight al-Qaeda, one of the party's former top officials, Abu Wisam al-Jashaami, told pan-Arab daily Al Hayat. "AlDouri has decided to sever ties with al-Qaeda and sign up to the programme of the national resistance, which includes routing Islamist terrorists and opening up dialogue with the Baghdad government and foreign forces," al-Jashaami said.
Al-Douri has decided to deal directly with US forces in Iraq, according to al-Jashaami. He figures in the 55-card deck of "most wanted" officials from the former Iraqi regime issued by the US government.
In return, for cooperating in the fight against al-Qaeda, al-Douri has asked for guarantees over his men's safety and for an end to Iraqi army attacks on his militias.
Recent weeks have seen a first step in this direction, when Baathist fighters cooperated with Iraqi government forces in hunting down al-Qaeda operatives in the volatile Diyala province and in several districts of the capital, Baghadad.
This could be game, set, and match for the Iraq War. Some smaller insurgent elements assisted in clearing Baqubah as a test to see whether an alliance with Americans would work. Apparently, the experiment worked. If al-Douri accepts the authority of the elected Iraqi government, then almost all of the resistance in western Iraq will disappear -- leaving AQI very exposed.
(Excerpt) Read more at captainsquartersblog.com ...
Great news, thanks for posting. Keeping fingers crossed this is all true, it will be the death of al-Qaeda.
Bump!
well, he’s been dead before, too - last time the chinese said it...
Saddam’s right-hand man dies (Izzat Ibrahim Al-Dhouri)
Xinhuanet ^ | November 11 2005
Posted on 11/11/2005 9:57:46 AM PST by jmc1969
http://209.157.64.201/focus/f-news/1520276/posts?page=1,50
Hillary calling for al-Maliki’s resignation per CNN, reported by NRO
Maybe, maybe not. But if true, the intelligence information alone should be worth the switch.
Ping!
This is the guy who has been committing most of the violence on the Sunni side. And maybe we can finally start putting all of the "Al Qaeda" bullcrap to rest now.
Bumperoonie! Hoping it’s true!
Emperor Hirohito should have been executed too... but he proved to be far more useful to us alive.
Well, perhaps. If leaving him alive is sufficient to effectively stabilize Iraq into something approaching a civilized nation, then it's worth it to leave him alive.
Of course, leaving al-Douri alive also leaves open the possibility that he could take over, and reconstitute Iraq along its former Saddamist lines.
It's a finicky trade ... but it's entirely possible that the preponderance of benefit would come from letting the bastard continue to draw breath.
“While al-Douri is an s.o.b., if he keeps to his word and helps defeat alQuaeda and the insurgency, he should be given a pardon and incorporated back into the government.”
Excuse me?!? Given a pardon? incorporated back into the government.??
Do you know who you’re talking about?
“He had a well-deserved and well-known reputation as a killer. As Vice-Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council, he was complicit in launching two wars of aggression against Iran and Kuwait, invading Saudi Arabia and attacking the town of Khafji in January 1991. He was involved in the brutal repression of the Uprising which followed the Gulf War in 1991 including mass executions, torture and wanton destruction. He was complicit in the deliberate destruction of the Marsh Arabs’ way of life. He was also complicit in the genocidal Anfal campaigns waged against the Kurds, including chemical weapons attacks, the destruction of rural villages and infrastructure, and mass executions.”
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/al-douri.htm
I've heard Russia's approach to foreign policy described in terms of chess. What you said is undoubtedly part of Putin's chess strategy ... but they seem to think several moves ahead, and thus there's probably more to it than that.
and Iran?
and Iran?
“If al-Douri accepts the authority of the elected Iraqi government, then almost all of the resistance in western Iraq will disappear — leaving AQI very exposed”
Also leaving the AQI fellow travelers in congress and running for president very exposed.
What will happen to the Democrats then?
Wow! Just think about all those dumbass politicians in Congress, who were criticizing Iraqi politicians for taking the summer off. Looks like that vacation time might have been spent productively after all.
Start?
He's switching sides because we are winning! He likes staying alive and all that.
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