Posted on 10/17/2010 5:43:56 AM PDT by Son House
Edited on 10/17/2010 6:45:55 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Hundreds of members of the Awakening Councils, a collection of United States-allied Sunni sheiks and their militia forces, have quit or been dismissed from their positions in the past few months, the New York Times reported Saturday.
Iraqi government officials say that the fighters, known as Sahwa, have left as a result of an intensive recruiting campaign by the Sunni insurgency and rejoined Al Qaeda. Many have extensive knowledge of the U.S. military, the Times said, adding that it is possible that thousands of the fighters who are working for the government are simultaneously assisting the insurgency.
What do you want?
We shouldn’t have allied with the Sunnis or anyone else in that region. When you go to War you go win then after it’s over fix it all back up and leave.
Iran sends another dangerous Shia terror commander back to Iraq
By Bill RoggioOctober 18, 2010
Another Shia terror commander who takes orders from Iran has recently returned to Iraq, heightening fears that violence in the quiet Iraqi south may spike.
Iran has sent Abu Mustafa al Sheibani, the commander of the notorious Sheibani Network, back to Iraq to reorganize his fighters, US military and intelligence officials told The Long War Journal. The exact date of Sheibani’s return is not known, but he is believed to have returned to Iraq sometime in the late summer.
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/10/iran_sends_another_d.php
Good news. Maybe it will shape up to be a real bloodbath over there. :-)
How many acts of war does Iran have to commit before we reciprocate?
Don’t hold back, how do you *really* feel? ;’)
And then you would all just call me a psychopath. But that wouldn’t really bother me. I could care less. :-))
The government of Iraq promised to give them civilian jobs, but very few were hired. Those that were hired received menial work. Many joined the Iraqi Army or the Iraqi Police forces. Some were actually given "honorary" ranking positions, but now the Iraqi government is working to strip them of their Army/Police ranks and reduce them to the rank-and-file.
Earlier this year, many were issued their final meager pay by the government of Iraq and essentially told to hit the road.
In essence, they were sold out by the same government(s) that they fought for. With the Iraqi economy still in shambles, and rampant unemployment, it's no wonder that they are reverting to their old ways.
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As an added note, the al Iraqiya bloc, which won by a slim majority last March, has threatened to quit the government if Maliki retains his seat as the PM. This falls right in line with the recent conditions set by the Iranian government for backing Maliki. Iran wants al-Maliki to refrain from renewing the security agreement with the United States after its expiration in 2011 and insists that he tie the Iraqi economy to Iran’s. Al-Maliki must also protect two Shiite militant groups — Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Jamaat Hezbollah — that split from Jaish al-Mahdi, the militant arm of Muqtada al-Sadr’s group. If al-Maliki cannot protect the groups, he should at least leave them alone and not attempt to disband them, the source said.
Stratfor link- requires membership
What does this mean for the average Iraqi on the streets in Anbar Province? Many have been purchasing weapons for self defense. Others are seriously considering safe haven in Syria or Jordan. I spoke with one Iraqi today who told me that the reason that the security situation is (relatively speaking) calm due to the continued presence of the US forces. He believes that once US troops depart, civil war will begin anew, with an outcome not unlike that which occured in the former Yugoslavia.
That damn Maliki is nothing but trouble. He's a puppet for Iran and always has been. He's only "played nice" with us to get funding.
Allawi won that election and Maliki refuses to cede power, thus creating the deadlock (and subsequent deterioration of the security situation) we see today.
If we had a decent administration back home, we'd probably be able to do somthing about this, but alas, we have the Muslim who favors Iran over our own country.
Another side of the issue is that Iraq needs a strong leader to hold the country together. Allawi isn't it. He hasn't demanded that Maliki step down, nor has he taken the proper course of action to push Maliki out.
The Sunni's in Anbar view Allawi as weak and ineffective. Many Sunni's are making plans (i.e. buying weapons and looking for safe haven in Syria or Jordan). They have no doubts that Iraq will return to civil war once the USF depart.
You wouldn't believe how many Sunni's wish that Saddam was back in office. Again- they know what to expect with a dictator. Western ideals aren't working for them.
FreedomPoster- Sorry, I just noticed that I forgot to ping you to this thread.
Aw, heck, too bad there's not a current American version of Ronald Reagan.
Like my grandmother used to say, if wishes were horses, we'd all ride.
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