> Really stupid tactics. This is why they are losing so badly. Guerrillas need either the support of, or the neutrality of, the locals to be effective
Maybe not so stupid. Iraq is 20% Sunni, they used to be in power and were supplanted by the Shiite majority. If al Qaeda carry out this threat in the Sunni part of Iraq (the middle third, geographically-speaking) it may be seen as a liberating move by the supplanted Sunni majority in that region.
I suggest the Shiite government respond to this threat by waterboarding each al Qaeda operative it captures for any useful information, giving them a summary trial before a military tribunal, then hanging them from construction cranes in the public square — all within the space of one day of capture.
If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.