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Saudis make up 41% of foreign fighters in Iraq
The Guardian UK ^ | Friday November 23, 2007 | Ian Black, Middle East editor

Posted on 11/23/2007 5:26:56 AM PST by SubGeniusX

More than 40% of the foreign fighters who entered Iraq to join the insurgency in the past year were citizens of Saudi Arabia, America's key partner in the Middle East, according to detailed information seized from a camp used by them. Documents and computers found by the US army at Sinjar, on the Iraqi-Syrian border, revealed that the other single largest group came from Libya, which is now being rehabilitated as a reliable western ally.

[snip]

US military officials believe that 90% of such bombings are by foreigners.

The captured data has been described as an intelligence treasure trove that included biographical details and the hometowns of the more than 700 fighters who entered Iraq since August 2006. Of those 307, or 41%, were Saudis and 137, or 18%, Libyans, senior US military sources told the New York Times.

[snip]

The presence of a large number of Libyans among the insurgents in Iraq suggests that the regime of Muammar Gadafy has pushed its violent Islamist enemies abroad, having cleaned up its own act by renouncing support for terrorism and surrendering its chemical and nuclear arsenal after the US invasion of Iraq.

The documents, found in September, showed that the third-largest source of foreign fighters was Yemen, with 68, followed by Algeria, 64, Morocco, 50, Tunisia, 38, Jordan, 14, Turkey, six, and Egypt, two. These figures seem to corroborate suggestions of a worrying increase in jihadi activity across north Africa, where armed groups from Libya, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco have united under the banner of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.

(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: flypaperstrategy; iraq; martyrsiniraq; saudiararbia; saudifriends; wot; yemen
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1 posted on 11/23/2007 5:26:58 AM PST by SubGeniusX
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To: SubGeniusX

41%, were Saudis .............. This is a suprise? They’re home land of Wahabi Islam.


2 posted on 11/23/2007 5:37:23 AM PST by Bringbackthedraft (Staying home or voting 3rd Party, Elects Hillary!)
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To: SubGeniusX

Doesn’t surprise me at all. If we do not get a handle on the Arabs and now Pakis, we will be dropping by the thousands here at home. 9/11 is a prime example.


3 posted on 11/23/2007 5:44:21 AM PST by DownInFlames (,)
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To: SubGeniusX
Saudi, Libya, Yemen, Algeria - top 4.

Unsurprising.

4 posted on 11/23/2007 5:45:04 AM PST by wideawake (Why is it that so many self-proclaimed "Constitutionalists" know so little about the Constitution?)
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To: SubGeniusX

Voting against drilling in ANWAR is voting to keep our heads in the sand.


5 posted on 11/23/2007 5:46:13 AM PST by samtheman (Fred Thompson '08)
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To: SubGeniusX; stephenjohnbanker; M. Espinola; Calpernia
Bush's good friends -- the Saudis support terrorists !

Our fundamentally inconsistent foreign policy is driven by our dependence on foreign oil.

6 posted on 11/23/2007 5:56:56 AM PST by ex-Texan (Matthew 7: 1 - 6)
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To: SubGeniusX
They also recruit and pay expenses for North African fighters who are most of the remaining terrorists trying to kill our troops and the Iraqi population. Saudis are behind terrorism all over the world, not just in Iraq. They fund the narcoterrorists in Bosnia/Kosovo as well.

The Saudis are al-Qaeda. Too many people refuse to face the truth about our "allies", the Saudis.
7 posted on 11/23/2007 6:02:07 AM PST by George W. Bush (Apres moi, le deluge.)
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To: SubGeniusX

If the Saudis keep coming, we’ll keep killing them. It’s a small country population-wise..... If enough of their young die in Iraq, the Filipinos can take over Saudi!


8 posted on 11/23/2007 6:21:16 AM PST by Rummyfan (Iraq: it's not about Iraq anymore, it's about the USA!)
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To: SubGeniusX

Saudis make up 41% of foreign fighters in Iraq...

and these are our friends????


9 posted on 11/23/2007 6:29:32 AM PST by nyyankeefan
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To: ex-Texan

I read another poll that the numbers are higher for Saudi terrorists.. but either way it’s a real problem that does not get enough attention.


10 posted on 11/23/2007 6:37:45 AM PST by pjt7
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To: All
Look at the bright side of things,
41% of those who are killing American’s in Iraq
is a smaller percentage than the percentage of Saudis among the of 9-11 hijackers.
So in a sense you could say relations are improving between the country.
11 posted on 11/23/2007 6:40:20 AM PST by Jonah Johansen ("Coming soon to a neighborhood near you")
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To: SubGeniusX

Only 700 foreigners, including 307 Saudis, entered Iraq since August 2006?

Iraq has better border security than we do.


12 posted on 11/23/2007 6:40:22 AM PST by bw17
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To: Bringbackthedraft

Another poll noted that bears defecate in the woods. (Film at 11:00)


13 posted on 11/23/2007 6:41:00 AM PST by wolfpat (If you don't like the Patriot Act, you're really gonna hate Sharia Law.)
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To: SubGeniusX
I'm glad we're providing the House of Saud a pressure relief valve for their domestic problems.

Do I really need a < /s> on this?

14 posted on 11/23/2007 6:43:55 AM PST by Tijeras_Slim
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To: SubGeniusX
First, the source of the Whabbi movement is Saudi Arabia. Like it or not, there is a high percentage of that population that are true believers. Additionally, Iraq shares a very long unpopulated and unsecured border with Saudi Arabia. Manning the hundreds of miles of space to stop 100+ individuals from crossing over a year period would be a huge waste of resources. The ones who know what they are doing get fake documents that are as good as the real thing and come in from Syria with the regular flow of commercial traffic anyway.

What is surprising is the few Egyptians in the mix. Also the lack of Palestinians. One would think that with the huge population of Egypt and the supposed influence of the Muslim brotherhood there that they would attract more”martyrs”.

15 posted on 11/23/2007 6:44:08 AM PST by RedEyeJack
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To: nyyankeefan
I've long contended that each and every "foreign fighter" (i.e., terrorist) ultimately be sent home from Iraq or Afghanistan in a tastefully gift-wrapped shoebox.

Stinking jihadist SOB's went out of their way looking for trouble, and they should be suitably repaid for their efforts.

Filthy izlammik scum...

16 posted on 11/23/2007 6:47:45 AM PST by MarineDad
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To: ex-Texan

Keep your friends close. Keep your enemies closer.


17 posted on 11/23/2007 7:00:55 AM PST by Theo (Global warming "scientists." Pro-evolution "scientists." They're both wrong.)
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To: SubGeniusX

The Saudis definitely are not our friends. We need to become completely independent from their oil supplies (like Brazil) and quit sending billions over to these people - its absolutely insane.

Unfortunately, the day may well come when we have to nuke both Mecca and Medina. In Mecca, the Kabba stone Muslims march around seven times would be blown away and the surrounding area would be radioactive for decades.

With no more pilgrimages (Hajj) possible by Muslims to Mecca, one of the five pillars of Islam could no longer be fulfilled by its followers. The false religion of Islam could very well die out within a couple of generations.


18 posted on 11/23/2007 7:09:41 AM PST by Lions Gate
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To: Theo
Keep your friends close. Keep your enemies closer.

Nice Bumper Sticker type slogan ... but stupid foreign policy ...

It has worked so well in the past for us...
Saddam
Noriega
Papa and Baby Doc
Mujahadeen/Taliban
Putin (gazed into his eyes)
Musharraf
shall I go on...

The "Keep your enemies closer"/"the enemy of my enemy" approach to foreign policy has always turned out to be a disaster... why do we insist on repeating our mistakes???

19 posted on 11/23/2007 7:17:26 AM PST by SubGeniusX (who would have thought “following the Constitution ...” would be a revolutionary idea in)
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To: SubGeniusX

Saudi Arabia is not America friendly.

In my opinion, they are our enemies. Their leadership has a lot of fun playing the traditional arabic assassin/intrigue game against those they speak soothingly to in public settings.


20 posted on 11/23/2007 7:38:37 AM PST by xzins (Retired Army Chaplain. True Supporters of the Troops will pray for US to Win!)
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