Good News from Iraq Report- The FishWrap
Monday, April 02, 2007
From the mighty LT Fishman at StratFor comes the FishWrap, his open source round up of good news from Iraq. He starts off with the, news to Michael Ware, info that Baghdad is it's safest since 2005. Hmmmm. UPDATE: LT Fish somehow failed to credit the first piece to one of our favorites Bill Roggio. Now it could be just a slip, but I think the LT figgers he can just jack Bill up:
A major success that has helped to keep sectarian tensions at bay (deaths in Baghdad are at the lowest rate since March of 2005) has been the sidelining of Muqtada al Sadr and the fracturing of his Mahdi Army. We've noted this process has been ongoing for almost a year, and the Sadr's flight to Iran has destroyed his command and control over the militia. "Sadr has had trouble both leading and controlling his movement from afar, [Pentagon Officials] said, as his absence has encouraged subordinates and earlier rivals to move in on his turf," the Washington Post notes today. "It's clear that he does not control all the organization. There are splinter groups that don't answer and won't answer to him, particularly since he is in Tehran now," a senior Pentagon official told the Post. While EFP [Explosively Formed Projectiles] attacks are increasing in some neighborhoods, overall the number of EFP attacks are down. U.S. forces just captured another member of an EFP cell in Sadr City. While many view the splintering of the Mahdi Army as a negative, the fact is that the most extreme elements were never going to accept a political solution, as they answer to their Iranian masters. The more moderate elements are now free from Sadr and Iran's influence.
Good News Iraq 31 March Lieutenant Jarred Fishman, USAFR
1) Deaths in Baghdad Lowest Rate since early 2005 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/baghdad_navigator/
A major success that has helped to keep
sectarian tensions at bay (deaths in Baghdad are at the lowest rate since March of 2005)
has been the sidelining of Muqtada al Sadr and the fracturing of his Mahdi
Army. We've noted this process has been ongoing for almost a year, and the
Sadr's flight to Iran has destroyed his command and control over the militia.
"Sadr has had trouble both leading and controlling his movement from afar,
[Pentagon Officials] said, as his absence has encouraged subordinates and
earlier rivals to move in on his turf," the Washington Post
notes today. "It's clear that he does not control all the
organization. There are splinter groups that don't answer and won't answer to
him, particularly since he is in Tehran now," a senior Pentagon official
told the Post. While EFP [Explosively Formed Projectiles] attacks are
increasing in some neighborhoods, overall the number of EFP attacks are down. U.S. forces just captured another member of an EFP cell in Sadr City. While
many view the splintering of the Mahdi Army as a negative, the fact is that the
most extreme elements were never going to accept a political solution, as they
answer to their Iranian masters. The more moderate elements are now free from
Sadr and Iran's influence. The Mahdi split has weakened Sadr politically and
has exposed his operation as an Iranian foil. Sadr has portrayed himself as an
Iraqi patriot, but the longer he stays in Iran while the Iranian Qods Force
cannibalizes his militia, the more his influence in Iraq will wane. Much like the split in the Mahdi Army, the fault
lines within the Sunni insurgency are now becoming apparent. The 1920s
Revolution Brigades, which is one of the four most influential Sunni insurgent
groups in Iraq, has now split into two factions: al-Jihad al-Islami
(Islamic Jihad) Corps and the al-Fatih al-Islami (Islamic Conquest or Hamas).
The Hamas branch has sided with al Qaeda in Iraq, while the Islamic Jihad
faction opposes joining al Qaeda. Large elements of the 1920s Revolution
Brigades in Anbar province have already thrown in their lot with the Anbar
Salvation Council, which is actively hunting al Qaeda.The splitting of the
Sunni insurgency and the advancement of the reconciliation process is key to
isolating al Qaeda and providing intelligence on the network. Coalition forces detained 11 al Qaeda suspects, including six near the
Syrian border and five in Karma. Karma has been a hotbed of al Qaeda activity of late.
|
1B) Sunni Sheiks Join Fight Versus Insurgency
By TODD PITMAN
Associated Press Writer March 25, 2007, 2:39 PM ED
RAMADI, Iraq -- Not long ago it would have been unthinkable: a Sunni sheik
allying himself publicly with American forces in a xenophobic city at the
epicenter of Iraq's Sunni insurgency.Today, there is no mistaking whose side
Sheik Abdul Sattar al-Rishawi is on. Outside his walled home, a U.S. tank is on
permanent guard beside a clutch of towering date palms and a protective dirt
berm.The 36-year-old sheik is leading a growing movement of Sunni tribesmen who
have turned against al-Qaida-linked insurgents in Anbar province. The dramatic
shift in alliances may have done more in a few months to ease daily street
battles and undercut the insurgency here than American forces have achieved in
years with arms.The American commander responsible for Ramadi, Col. John W.
Charlton, said the newly friendly sheiks, combined with an aggressive
counterinsurgency strategy and the presence of thousands of new Sunni police on
the streets, have helped cut attacks in the city by half in recent months.In
November 2005, American commanders held a breakthrough meeting with top Sunni
chiefs in Ramadi, hoping to lure them away from the insurgents' fold. The
sheiks responded positively, promising cooperation and men for a police force
that was then virtually nonexistent.Al-Rishawi, whose father and three brothers
were killed by al-Qaida assassins, said insurgents were "killing innocent
people, anyone suspected of opposing them. They brought us nothing but destruction
and we finally said, enough is enough."Al-Rishawi founded the Anbar
Salvation Council in September with dozens of Sunni tribes. Many of the new
newly friendly leaders are believed to have at least tacitly supported the
insurgency in the past, though al-Rishawi said he never did."I was always
against these terrorists," al-Rishawi said in an interview inside his
American-guarded compound, adjusting a pistol holstered around his waist.
"They brainwashed people into thinking Americans were against them. They
said foreigners wanted to occupy our land and destroy our mosques. They told
us, 'We'll wage a jihad. We'll help you defeat them.'"The difficult part
was convincing others it wasn't true, and that "building an alliance with
the Americans was the only solution," al-Rishawi said.His movement, also
known as the Anbar Awakening, now counts 41 tribes or sub-tribes from Anbar,
though al-Rishawi acknowledges that some groups in the province have yet to
join. It's unclear how many that is, or much support the movement really has.And
there is opposition. In November, a top Sunni leader who heads the Association
of Muslim Scholars, Sheik Harith al-Dhari, described al-Rishawi's movement as
"thieves and bandits." And for at least a year, U.S. forces have also
witnessed sporadic firefights between Sunni militias and insurgents in Ramadi,
reflecting the growing split among Sunnis. They used to describe such
skirmishes as "red on red" fighting -- battles between enemies. Now
they call it "red on green."But violence in some districts of Ramadi
previously hit by daily street battles has dwindled to a degree so low that
American soldiers can walk on the streets in some areas and hand out soccer
balls without provoking a firefight -- apparently a direct result of the sheik's
influence.
U.S. Lt. Nathan Strickland, also of the 1-77th, said the sheiks were influenced
by the realization that Shiite Iran's regional influence was rising, and
"the presence of (Sunni) foreign fighters here was disrupting the traditional
local tribal structure."Al-Rishawi and other sheiks urged their tribesmen
to join the police force, and 4,500 Sunnis heeded the call in Ramadi alone -- a
remarkable feat in a city that had almost no police a year ago.Local Sunnis
have deeply resented the overwhelmingly Shiite Iraqi army units the
Shiite-dominated government in Baghdad has deployed here. Sunni tribes have
begun to realize that if anybody is going to secure the city, it might as well
be the sons of Ramadi, Strickland said.Also pouring through the streets in
police trucks fixed with heavy machine-guns are 2,500 Sunni tribesmen who have
joined newly created SWAT team-like paramilitary units. Paid by the Interior
Ministry with the blessing of U.S. commanders, the so-called Emergency Response
Units are clearly loyal to local sheiks. Some wear track suits and
face-covering red-checkered headscarves -- looking startlingly like insurgent
fighters. Others wear crisp green camouflage uniforms bought by al-Rishawi.The
ERU members were screened and sent either on 45-day police training courses in
Jordan or seven-day courses at a military base in Ramadi -- part of an effort
to capitalize on the Awakening movement and make use of them as quickly as
possible."I'd say 20 percent of the credit for the change in Ramadi could
be taken by U.S. forces," said Strickland. "The vast majority of the
turnaround is due to the sheiks."Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
made his first trip to Anbar province this month, meeting al-Rishawi and saying
he applauded Sunni tribes and clans that had "risen up and countered
terrorism."Still, al-Rishawi complained the Interior Ministry had given
police and ERU units "one-tenth" of the resources they needed -- from
equipment to guns to food, despite promises to do more. Some of the fighters use
automatic weapons they brought from home."If I had the tools, I could wipe
al-Qaida from Anbar within five months," al-Rishawi said.Strickland said
the government was probably "hesitant to strengthen and supply something
that might become a popular Sunni movement."The message has taken longer
to spread to eastern Ramadi, but it's getting through there, too, said Maj.
Dave Christensen of the U.S. Army's 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment.The
base he works from used to be hit daily by mortar attacks, prompting outgoing
barrages targeting launch sites that inadvertently damaged buildings, killed
cattle, and alienated locals. The sheik responsible for the neighborhood where
the attacks originated began cooperating with Americans a few months ago,
prompting insurgents to attack and burn down his house."He fought back,
then called and said, 'Hey, I've been helping you, now I could use your
help,'" Christensen said.U.S. forces moved into the now relatively quiet
area, and Christensen's base has seen only a handful of mortar strikes since.
2) U.S. and Iraqi forces capture suspect linked to sophisticated EFP bombs The Associated Press Friday, March 30, 2007 http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/03/30/africa/ME-GEN-Iraq-Raid.php
BAGHDAD: The U.S. military announced the capture Friday of a
suspected militant linked to the import into Iraq of sophisticated roadside
bombs that the Americans have asserted are coming from Iran. The suspect, who
was detained by U.S. and Iraqi forces during a raid in the Shiite militia
stronghold of Sadr City, was believed to be tied to networks bringing the
weapons known as explosively formed projectiles, or EFPs, into Iraq, the
military said. The suspect was believed to be involved with several violent
extremist groups responsible for attacks against Iraqis and U.S.-led forces,
according to the statement. It did not name the suspect or the groups, but the
U.S. military has asserted in recent months that Iran's Revolutionary Guards
and Quds force have been providing Shiite militias with weapons and parts for
sophisticated armor-piercing bombs. The EFPs are responsible for the deaths of
more than 170 American and coalition soldiers since mid-2004, the military
says. Residents claimed the man arrested was a 58-year-old father of six
children who was unemployed. They said the raid began at 2 a.m. and targeted
four houses, and the American and Iraqi troops seized money, a computer and
several cell phones.
3) Pentagon buys gear from Iraqi factories
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070328/ap_on_go_ot/us_iraq_economy_2
By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer In
an Iraq jobs program, the Pentagon has helped reopen three factories shuttered
after the 2003 invasion, seeding the ground by buying uniforms and armored
vehicles for its Iraqi allies from two of them. Reopening state-owned factories
that produced everything from cement to buses for Saddam Hussein's regime is
among efforts President Bush hopes will boost the economy and help salvage a
violent Iraq. His strategy of increasing troops there to try to calm violence
is meant to buy the Iraqi government time to move forward on political
reconciliation and reconstruction. In a program started nearly a year ago, the
Defense Department has reopened a large textile factory in Najaf by buying
uniforms for Iraqi soldiers and police that the U.S. has been training and has
reopened a vehicle factory south of Baghdad by buying armored vehicles, said
Paul Brinkley, deputy undersecretary of defense in charge of Pentagon business
modernization efforts. He has been running the program. Officials helped find
other customers for the third restarted factory, in Ramadi, which makes ceramic
products. Brinkley has been taking representatives from private industry in the
United States and elsewhere to Iraq to encourage them to do business in the
country. One company has agreed to buy 120 trucks from the transport company
and another is expected to buy clothing from the textile factory that Brinkley
said could be on American shelves by fall. Brinkley said the program will
reopen private as well as government factories. Military commanders have long
seen employment as one of the keys to slowing the violence. The idea of
restarting factories differs from some previous reconstruction efforts that
have had limited success in that it is aimed at providing long-term employment
for factory workers as opposed to short-term jobs with individual rebuilding
projects. Of some 200 large factories that made up Iraq's former industrial
base, Brinkley said the Pentagon believes 140 are potentially viable and has
identified ways to get 56 of them running again, possibly this year.
4) Iraq Special Operations Troops Graduate http://www.iraqslogger.com/index.php/post/2144/Iraq_Special_Operations_Troops_Graduate Elite Force Demonstrates Skills Before
Maliki, Petraeus Near Baghdad
A
member of the Iraqi Special Operations Forces is shown during a demonstration
of their abilities at a graduation ceremony March 29, 2007, in Baghdad. Iraqi
Prime Minster Nuri al-Maliki and the top U.S commander in Iraq, Gen. David H.
Petraeus attended the ceremony. Iraqi Special Operations Forces completed
graduation exercises on the western outskirts of Baghdad Thursday before an
audience that included Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and top U.S. commander
Gen. David H. Petraeus. As the most elite unit of the Iraqi Armed Forces,
Special Operations troops are charged with battling the insurgency at its
highest levels.
5) "Hamas of Iraq" Splits from 1920
Brigades
Militant Groups Splintering over Negotiations
http://www.iraqslogger.com/ index...m_1920_Brigades
A new group by the name of
“Hamas of Iraq” has announced its formation, al-Melaf reports in Arabic. This
armed group has apparently been formed by seceding from the 1920 Revolution
Brigades, which has carried out operations in many areas of the country. This
development points to the existence of divisions among the leadership of the various
armed groups, which are becoming manifest as some groups follow the inclination
to abandon armed operations and enter into negotiations with the government.
Sharp divisions have opened between the leaders who support these divisions,
especially after the assassination attempt on the Deputy Prime Minister Salam
al-Zubaei, and those who oppose them. At the same time, al-Sabah carries a
brief report pointing to splits emerging within groups affiliated with
al-Qa'ida, which it says will isolate al-Qa'ida in Diyala and Anbar provinces.
Al-Sabah says that the groups “would receive direct orders from Arab states” to
give up armed operations and enter negotiations. The brief report does not name
the groups or states it refers to. This alleged splintering in Sunni
organizations comes in tandem with reports of a similar splintering in the
Mahdi Army, reported earlier.
6) On the Ground in Anbar:
Positive Developments
http://acutepolitics.blogspot.com/2007/03/updates.html
“As
we were leaving the OP, the Iraqi villagers brought another man with his hands
bound and eyes blindfolded, accusing him of being involved. It saddens me that
children had to die to shock the villagers out of their fear of the insurgents,
but at least they did something about it. Second: We went back out on the same
resupply run yesterday. There has been
an amazing transformation in the area just in the week since we were there
last. The road we take up to the OP that I said was such a bad route? It is
now lined with checkpoints manned by militia fighters standing alongside
Marines. The massive blast holes and
craters in the road have been filled in, and both children and adults
walked out where I have never seen people before. The children at the beginning
of the road are still there, and still cheering for "Free stuff,
Mister!", but now they have friends all along the rest of the road.
7) Al Qaeda being pressed by Sunni Tribes
http://www.defensetech.org/archives/003392.html
“The latest attack against a moderate Sunni -- likely carried out by
the jihadists -- clearly suggests these transnational elements are attempting
to discourage Sunni leaders from following a moderate path and cooperating with
the Iraqi government, or from accepting help from Saudi Arabia. Iraqi Deputy
Prime Minister Salam Zikam Ali al-Zubaie was wounded in the suicide bombing
attack, which occurred during Friday prayers at a hall near Baghdad's Foreign
Ministry. A week earlier, suspected jihadist insurgents detonated three
vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices packed with chlorine west of Baghdad
in Anbar province, including one near a prayer hall used by a Sunni cleric who
had spoken out against al Qaeda. These attacks and al-Libi's appeal are signs of desperation on the part
of the jihadists in Iraq. Al Qaeda realizes its influence in the country is
waning and is appealing to Iraqi and foreign jihadists to concentrate their
efforts on the common enemy, rather than on one another. That al-Libi made an appeal that normally
would have come from al-Zawahiri or Osama bin Laden suggests he is being
groomed to take on a more important role in al Qaeda.”
8) Japan Extends Air Force
Mission in Iraq
Japan's
Cabinet OKs 2-Year Extension of Air Force Mission in Iraq After It Expries in
July
The
Associated Press TOKYO - Japan's Cabinet approved a two-year extension of the
country's air force mission in Iraq after it expires in July, the foreign minister
announced Friday. Tokyo has been airlifting U.N. and coalition personnel and
supplies into Baghdad and other Iraqi cities from nearby Kuwait since early
last year as part of efforts to support Iraq's reconstruction.The mission had
been set to end July 31."A two-year extension is necessary to continue
stable airlifting support" because Iraq's reconstruction has not been
completed, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said in a statement after Cabinet approved
the plan."International society seeks support for Iraq's reconstruction
and that (Japan's continuing support) also serves Japan's national
interest," Aso said.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet hopes to get
parliamentary approval of a bill for the extension by late June.Tokyo has
backed the U.S.-led Iraq invasion and provided troops for a non-combat,
humanitarian mission in the southern city of Samawah beginning in 2004.Japan
withdrew the ground troops in July 2006, and has since expanded its
Kuwait-based air operations.The Iraq mission is among Japan's steps to boost
its international profile. In October it also approved a one-year extension of
its Indian Ocean naval mission supporting the U.S.-led anti-terrorism campaign
in Afghanistan.
9) Golden Dragons Discover
Cache Site, VBIED Production Site
Multi-National Division – Baghdad PAO 2nd BCT,
10th Mtn. Div. (LI) Public Affairs
RUSHDI MULLAH, Iraq – Coalition force members detained three suspected
terrorist,
discovered three caches and seized a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device
production site here March 28.Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry
Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry)
participated in an operation intended to deny terrorist safe haven in the
“Golden Dragon’s” area of operations. The operation, which consisted of
air-assault and river phases, proved to be successful when elements of 2-14
Inf. discovered a house that had a false wall. Behind the false wall was a
large weapons cache. In the cache were seven RPK medium machine guns, 10 AK-47s,
30 empty AK-47 magazines, 11 full AK-47 magazines, a semi-automatic rifle, 300
9mm rounds, three full and three empty G3 assault rifle magazines, 1,000 7.62mm
rounds, 200 linked unknown rounds, 12.7mm caliber brass, an expended 155mm
artillery canister, two.308 bolt action rifles, a mortar fuse and a U.S.-made
submachine gun. The two other caches that were discovered consisted of and IED
trigger, eightAK-47 magazines, a bayonet, 100 AK-47 rounds, two full AK-47
magazines and a mortar sighting system. Also, during the operation a VBIED
production site was discovered in the samearea. Three vehicles and
miscellaneous parts were found that were in the process of being modified to be
used as VBIEDs. Three suspected terrorists were detained during the operation. The
contents of the cache and the VBIEDs were destroyed during a controlled detonation
conducted by the explosive ordnance disposal team.
10) Iran Linked Arms
Trafficker Arrested
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.400618808&par=0
Baghdad, 30 March (AKI) - The
Iraqi authorities have arrested a man they believe to be a major trafficker in
arms, particularly bombs, coming from Iran, a US spokesman in Baghdad said on
Friday. The man, whose identity has not been released, was arrested in the
mainly Shiite stronghold of Sadr City in the capital. He is accused of being a
middle man between groups of Iraqi insurgents and the al-Quds battalion of the
Iranian Revolutionary Guards. No arms were found in the house of the 58 year
father of six, but police found large sums of cash, various laptop computers
and two satellite phones. Earlier this month, special Iraqi army units captured
an alleged weapons smuggler during operations with coalition forces in the
southern city of Basra. The suspect reportedly funneled weapons and improvised
explosive devices for use in attacks against Iraqi and Coalition Forces.
11) Terrorists killed, weapons caches found and
destroyed
http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2007/03/iraq_tal_afar_aftermath_and_di.asp Thousands of Al Qaeda fighters are said to have fled Baghdad for Diyala, and the Islamic State of Iraq has made Baquba its capital. Al Qaeda has been conducting a terror campaign to cow the local population and keep the tribes from supporting the government. U.S. and Iraqi forces have been conducting a major clearing operation in Diyala against al Qaeda in Iraq and its Islamic State of Iraq political front. On March 28, 25 al Qaeda were killed and 15 captured during raids in the Diyala River Valley. Eight weapons caches have been discovered and destroyed. Iraqi and Coalition forces have been busy over the past 48 hours interdicting insurgent and al Qaeda activites nation wide. Operations in Babil province, which is south of Baghdad, netted 38 suspected insurgents, five weapons caches and an IED. During nationwide operations against al Qaeda's network, Coalition Forces (or Task Force 145 - the hunter-killer teams assigned to disrupting al Qaeda networks) captured 19 suspects during raids in Karma, Haditha, Baghdad and Fallujah on March 28. Another 4 were killed and 15 captured during raids in Mosul, Baghdad, Fallujah and Haditha on March 29.
12) Iraqi Troops find
Major Arms Caches in Hilla
Camp KALSU, Iraq – An Iraqi
security force led operation executed a city wide weapons confiscation campaign
March 27 in Hillah. The 2nd Brigade, 8th Iraqi Army Division soldiers and
Hillah Iraqi Police worked together to conduct a cordon and search operation to
confiscate unauthorized weapons, detain 14 insurgents, and secure bomb-making
materials in Hillah and outlying areas.A military transition team from 425th
Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th
Infantry Division assisted in command and control.The weapons that were
confiscated included 124 AK-47 rifles,
15 various 7.62 rifles, fifteen pistols, one shotgun, 84 AK-47 ammunition
magazines and 10 pistol magazines. Eighteen sticks of C-4 explosives were found
and secured, and 14 insurgents were detained and are being held for
questioning.
More than 700 Iraqi security force personnel took part in the operation.
13) Iraqi Police Train in Law and Human Rights Maj. Eric Verzola
4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division A graduate of the Iraqi
Police Sustainment Training program receives his diploma and shakes hands with
Brig. Gen. Faris at Forward Operating Base Kalsu, March 24, 2007. U.S. Army
courtesy photo.FORWARD
OPERATING BASE KALSU —
The Iraqi Police Sustainment Training program on Forward Operating Base Kalsu
graduated its second class March 24 as part of Babil and Karbala provinces'
journey towards provincial Iraqi control. The Karbala police sent 35 officers
and the Babil police sent 15. After 10 days of training in the art and science
of police work, the graduates felt excited and honored to serve the people of
Iraqi. "This was a good group of policemen who were willing to learn and
were very excited about getting out there and doing their job," said
Lonnie Webb, a native of Homerville, Ga., and member of the Homerville Police
Department who assisted with the training."Like all law enforcement
officers, training is the keystone to professionalism and training these Iraqi
police officers during this program was effective," said Webb.The
effectiveness of the Iraqi police is important in a province's journey to
provincial Iraqi control, and the officers want their country to be
secure."These men understand that doing their duties may call for the
ultimate sacrifice of giving their lives for the safety and security of the
province, and more importantly, the people of their respective provinces,"
said Col. Michael Garrett, commander, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th
Infantry Division and native of Cleveland, Ohio."The unique part of the
training in this program is that when possible, two different provinces train
together; they see that although they are from different provinces, they are brothers-in-arms
with their fellow Iraqi security forces of this country." "Another
unique and important part of their training here was the addition of practical
law, rule of law, and human rights as part of the training," said Garrett.
"This is very important; it is the link between an arrest and conviction
of criminals in these two provinces and everywhere that the rule of law
prevails.""These graduates are true sons of Iraq and their respective
provinces and the people of Iraq should be proud of their accomplishments
during this program," added Garrett.In attendance at the graduation was
the deputy police chief of Babil province, Brig. Gen. Faris, who provided
remarks to the graduates."I thank Col. Garrett for this course which will
help prepare our police to do their jobs more effectively," said Faris.
"I am proud of them, their sacrifice and their willingness to serve their
province and nation."
14) Tearful
Iraqi Ballad Singer Unites Iraq After Winning Pan-Arab Idol http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/
Shada Hassoun,
an Iraqi contestant in an Arab-world talent competition similar to American
Idol has managed to unite
her country like no government can. The telecast
smashed an Iraqi telecommunications record as seven
million phone customers sent SMS messages for her to win, compared
to an average of no more than 150,000 texts a day, said an official at
company Iraqna. Iraqis cheer as the results on a giant TV screen showed the
winning of Shada Hassoon in the pan-Arab Star Academy reality show contest, in
Arbil. Hassoon shot to stardom in her war-torn homeland on Saturday as a symbol
of unity after winning an Arab version of "American Idol" in a glitzy
Beirut final. Shada Hassoon
won with 40.63% of the votes, whereas Marwa Binsaghir was second with 28.65%,
and with Mohammad Qammah at 25.06% and Carlo Nakhle at 5.66% finishing fourth. Iraq's
Shada Hassoon holds up her national flag after winning the pan-Arab Star
Academy reality talent show and competition in Adma, north of Beirut, 30 March.
Charismatic Iraqi singer Hassoon has shot to stardom in her war-torn homeland
on as a symbol of unity after winning an Arab version of "American Idol"
in a glitzy Beirut final. (AFP/Anwar
Amro)
15) Bush Cites Upbeat Bloggers From Baghdad
Mar 28 04:31 PM US/Eastern By BEN FELLER Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - To back up
his point that pulling out of Iraq would be a disaster, President Bush has quoted opinions from the secretary of defense,
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the top U.S. general in Iraq—and now, two
bloggers from Baghdad.
Bush made a surprising reference to the blogosphere during a spirited defense
of his war strategy on Wednesday. The mention seemed even more unusual because
the president didn't identify whom he was quoting, so he seemed to be leaning
on anonymous commentary. "They have bloggers in
Baghdad, just like we've got here," Bush told the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. Then he began to quote:
"Displaced families are returning home, marketplaces are seeing more
activity, stores that were long shuttered are now reopening. We feel safer
about moving in the city now. Our people want to see this effort succeed."
His point was that Iraqi people are seeing signs of progress—and what better example
of their unbridled expression than blogs. It turns out, the White House made
clear hours later, that he was quoting two brothers, Mohammed and Omar Fadhil.
They write an English- language blog from Baghdad called IraqTheModel.com. Both
of them got to meet Bush in the Oval Office in 2004. In his speech, Bush was pulling select lines
from an op-ed that the brothers wrote. It appeared in The Wall Street Journal
on March 5. Blogs are Web sites that tend to be narrow in focus and directed at
a niche audience. Most operate without editors and give instant reaction to the
news. Their freewheeling, open nature makes them popular but also ripe for
unverified statements. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino defended the
appearance of blog commentary in a presidential speech. It is just one more
way, she said, to show that positive news is happening in Iraq. But in
perspective, she said, the White House cites all kinds of sources. Among the
others she mentioned in the same breath: reporting from Gen. David Petraeus,
the top U.S. commander in Iraq. "What the president was doing was taking
an opportunity to talk about what one person's expression is," she said.
"But that doesn't mean that there aren't other people having the same
expression. Certainly, nobody can deny what General Petraeus has been
saying."
16) For Sadr, a Fracturing Militia Divides
Helping U.S. in Iraq Now but Could Cause Harm Later By Ann Scott Tyson and Robin Wright Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, March 29, 2007; A14
Iraq's
most powerful Shiite militia is increasingly splintering as radical cleric Moqtada
al-Sadr -- now believed to be in Iran
-- faces fresh challenges to his leadership, according to senior Pentagon and
administration officials. In the near term, the deepening divides in Sadr's
movement have contributed to a lull in fighting that is benefiting U.S. and
Iraqi operations to secure Baghdad, where Shiite militia and death squads
fomenting sectarian violence are considered the greatest threat to Iraq's
stability, the officials said. Yet the group's fracturing in the long run could
make it harder to defeat militarily and could also complicate political
reconciliation, they said."It's much more difficult to go after small,
violent splinter groups than if you can get one organization to come in from
the cold and reconcile," said a senior Pentagon official. "You have
to fight with more people and kill more people, and it's much harder to bring
them over to our side. The bright side is that, at least for the near term,
they are keeping kind of quiet."At least two Shiite rivals, with some
internal support, have been jockeying to take over parts of Sadr's powerful
Mahdi Army since he left for Iran earlier this year, officials say. Sadr has
had trouble both leading and controlling his movement from afar, they said, as
his absence has encouraged subordinates and earlier rivals to move in on his
turf."It's clear that he does not control all the organization. There are
splinter groups that don't answer and won't answer to him, particularly since
he is in Tehran now," the senior Pentagon official said. While some
officials think that Sadr -- who is the son of a famous ayatollah who was
killed during Saddam Hussein's rule -- is in Tehran, others said he is in Qom,
a center of religious learning with many ties to Iraqi clerics.Sadr had already
cracked down against rivals within his militia last August, as it grew
difficult to rein in some of his commanders, U.S. officials said. The Mahdi
Army, which was estimated last year to have 20,000 to 60,000 members, had
become a franchise operation with factions that were failing to comply with
orders or to pass money up the lines to headquarters, the officials added.Last
August, Sadr was specifically concerned about freelance fighting between some
of his forces and other Shiite militias, notably the Badr Corps, and massive
vengeance attacks against Sunnis for months after the February 2006 bombing of
the Shiite shrine in Samarra, U.S. officials said.In early August, Sadr purged
undisciplined factional commanders not showing fealty, leaving the Mahdi Army
smaller, tighter and more coherent, U.S. officials said. The streamlining was
influenced in part by the Iranian government, which sought a unified front
rather than a ragged array of militias fighting one another, the sources
added.Soon after President Bush's January announcement that he would be sending
more U.S. troops to help the Iraqi government regain control over Baghdad, Sadr
ordered his forces to lie low and not engage in shootouts with the Badr Corps
or other rivals -- in what U.S. officials think was an effort to preserve his
movement. In a sign that such orders still carry weight within the militia,
fighting has indeed diminished. Since then, however, lower-level Sadr commanders
as well as former rivals who were purged last year have started to make
ambitious plays to assume leadership of the Mahdi Army, U.S. officials
said.Sadr's "absence weakens the perception of him, and perceptions make a
difference," said Lt. Col. James Gavrilis, a counterinsurgency expert at
the Pentagon.Divisions also are being exacerbated as elements of the Mahdi Army
respond differently to the more aggressive U.S. and Iraqi military operations
inside Baghdad."What has changed is their reaction to what we're
doing," Gavrilis said. "If the senior council says 'Back off,' you
may have area commanders saying, 'I don't agree with the policy.' They may say,
'We have to fight. We can't give in. We can't give up territory -- that shows
we don't have control,' " he said. The U.S. military is attempting to
track attacks by various factions but has not identified clear patterns, a
military official said.
17) Al Anbar Tribes joining with US coalition to fight Al Qaeda
http://acutepolitics.blogspot.com/2007/03/intra-sunni-fighting-in-al-anbar.html
Since the start of the year,
Al-Qaeda In Iraq has attempted 11
chlorine VBIEDs, 9 in Al-Anbar, 1 in Tadji,
and one in Baghdad. Of those, 9 have detonated with varying degrees of success,
and 2 were found and disabled in Ramadi.
The most recent attacks were early this morning in downtown Falluja, outside the government center. Iraqi
troops engaged two trucks just after 0630, causing both to explode just short
of the base. Taken together, the string of chlorine bombings have killed 32
Iraqis and wounded over 600, most of them civilians. One US soldier was wounded
in an attack on an Iraqi Police checkpoint, as well as possibly more today in Falluja. These attacks have overwhelmingly
been targeted towards Iraqi forces, and the leaders and people of the tribes
who have begun to oppose Al-Qaeda In
Iraq. There are thirty-one major tribes int the Al-Anbar province. Of those thirty-one, twenty-five support the Anbar Awakening effort of the Anbar Salvation Council- the social and
political gathering of sheiks and former insurgents who oppose terroism in Al-Anbar. Of the six remaining tribes, the
Iraqi government, Coalition Forces and the
Anbar Salvation Council are attempting to split two off from the Al-Qaeda umbrella organization Islamic State of
Iraq. Those two tribes are the Al-bu Issa
and the Al-Zuba'a. Both have started to
fight against Al-Qaeda, and are
beginning to pay for it dearly. One chlorine bomb detonated in the Al-bu Issa region of Falluja, as I wrote before, injuring 250
civilians. Thahir al-Dari is the sheik of the Al-Zuba'a tribe. His son, Harith Dhaher
al-Dari was a military leader in the
1920 Revolutionary Brigades. The 1920 Revolutionary Brigades is a nationalist
Sunni insurgent group that was formerly affiliated with Al-Qaeda. Earlier this year, the group began to
split- one splinter wanted to remain with Al-Qaeda,
and the other wanted a break because of disagreements over methods and goals
(including issues such as Al-Qaeda's frequent targeting of civilians). Since
the rift began, members of the 1920's Brigades have been working with the Anbar Salvation Council (including fighting
Al-Qaeda in defense of one of the council
leaders), and reportably engaging in
talks with the government and coalition forces. Harith al-Dari
was killed by Al-Qaeda fighters near Abu Ghraib
yesterday, along with a bodyguard. His father, the sheik, narrowly escaped. Salam al-Zuba'a is one of the deputy prime ministers of
Iraq, from the Al-Zuba'a tribe. He
narrowly escaped being assassinated in a car bomb attack on his mosque on March
23rd. The chief suspect in the bombing is one of his bodyguards- accused to be
a member of an insurgent group friendly to Al-Qaeda and opposed to the Anbar
Salvation Council. Two years ago, Sheikh
Osama al-Jadaan tried to gather other tribes together
to stand against Al-Qaeda. He was
swiftly killed, and the leadership of the other tribes was dismantled. Al-Qaeda then filled the vacuum, and the insurgency became
stronger. Al-Qaeda has tried at least
four times to kill senior leaders of the Anbar
Salvation Council with bombs or all-out assault, and has killed several leaders
of insurgent groups that show signs of willingness to work with the Anbar Salvation Council or the Iraqi
government. This time around, though, the situation is far more favorable to
the sheiks than it was two years ago. First, the US military has finally begun
to work with the tribes in a realistic fashion, paving the way for tribal
militias to supplement the Iraqi
Forces. Secondly, the Iraqi Forces themselves are far more numerous and better
equipped than they were two years ago.
18) Many Parts Of Gen. McCaffrey's Report Paint A Positive Picture Gen. McCaffrey Describes Progress Throughout
His Report And Leads Three Of Four Sections With Optimism: Gen. McCaffrey On "The Current Situation": "Since
the arrival of General David Petraeus in command of Multi-National Force Iraq –
the situation on the ground has clearly and measurably improved." Gen. McCaffrey On "The Way
Ahead": "In my judgment, we can still achieve our objective of: a
stable Iraq, at peace with its neighbors, not producing weapons of mass
destruction, and fully committed to a law-based government." Gen. McCaffrey's "Summary": "We
have brilliant military and civilian leadership on the ground in Iraq. General
Dave Petraeus, LTG Ray Odierno, and Ambassador Ryan Crocker have the country's
treasure and combat power at their disposal. Our cause is just. The consequence
of failure will be severe." Gen. McCaffrey Highlights Key
Improvements In The U.S.-Iraqi Coalition Strategy In Iraq Gen. McCaffrey: "The Maliki
Government Has Given The Green Light To Prune Out Elements Of The Renegade Sadr
Organization In Baghdad." "More than 600+ rogue leaders
have been harvested by US and Iraqi special operations forces with the explicit
or tacit consent of the government. Sadr himself has fled to Iran and many of
his key leaders have escaped to the safety of the Shia south. His fighting
cadres were ordered to go to ground, hide their weapons, take down their check
points, stop the terrible ethnic cleansing and terror tactics against the Sunni
population, and ignore (not cooperate) with US and ISF forces." Gen.
McCaffrey: "U.S. And Iraqi Forces Have Now Dramatically Changed Their
Operational Scheme." "More then 50+ Iraqi Police/Army and
US Army Joint Security Stations (JSS) are now being emplaced across the city
and extended into the suburbs. The pre-operation planning and rehearsals were
superb. The presence of these joint military elements is now becoming
ubiquitous across the urban areas. Although many of these small outposts have
been attacked – none has yet been seriously jeopardized." Gen.
McCaffrey Says The Iraqis Are Encouraged Gen. McCaffrey: "The Iraqi People Are Encouraged" As
"Life Is Almost Immediately Springing Back In Many Parts Of The
City." "The murder rate has plummeted. IED attacks on US
forces during their formerly vulnerable daily transits from huge US bases on
the periphery of Baghdad are down – since these forces are now permanently
based in their operational area." Gen. McCaffrey Says The Iraqis Are
Committed To Securing Baghdad And Improving Their Police Force Gen. McCaffrey: "The Iraqis Have
Finally Committed Credible Numbers Of Integrated Police And Army Units To The
Battle Of Baghdad." "The strength of IA, IP, and NP units
has steadily gone up aided by clever monetary and troop leader incentives. The
ISF formations are showing increased willingness to aggressively operate
against insurgent/militia forces. Although there is continuing political
interference by politicians of both the Iraqi Administration and legislators –
this is clearly a serious urban security operation." Gen. McCaffrey:
There Is Now "Sunni Tribal Opposition To The Al Qaeda-In-Iraq Terror
Formations" And New Sunni Recruits To The Iraq's Police Force.
"There is a real and growing ground swell of Sunni tribal opposition to
the Al Qaeda-in-Iraq terror formations. (90% Iraqi.) This counter-Al Qaeda
movement in Anbar Province was fostered by brilliant US Marine leadership.
There is now unmistakable evidence that the western Sunni tribes are
increasingly convinced that they blundered badly by sitting out the political process.
They are also keenly aware of the fragility of the continued US military
presence that stands between them and a vengeful and overwhelming Shia-Kurdish
majority class – which was brutally treated by Saddam and his cruel regime.
There is now active combat between Sunni tribal leadership and AQI terrorists.
Of even greater importance, the Sunni tribes are now supplying their young men
as drafts for the Iraqi Police." Gen. McCaffrey Says The Iraqi
Security Forces Are Growing Gen. McCaffrey: "The Equipment And
Resources For The Iraqi Security Forces Has Increased Dramatically" While
"Maliki Has Pushed To Create A Larger Security Force." "The
ISF has planned 2007 expenditures of more than $7.3 billion. The Ministry of
Defense and the Ministry of the Interior are the only two of 27 Iraqi
Ministries that have executed their budgets at 90% plus satisfactory rates.
(General Petraeus is now putting US military liaison officers in ten additional
civilian Ministries to jump start their budget process.) PM Maliki has pushed
to create a larger security force of more than 100,000 Iraqi Army troops."
Gen. McCaffrey Says There Is A "Sophisticated" Political
Approach Gen. McCaffrey:
"There Is A Very Sophisticated And Carefully Integrated Approach By The
Iraqi Government And Coalition Actors To Defuse The Armed Violence From
Internal Enemies And Bring People Into The Political Process."
"Reconciliation of the internal warring elements in Iraq will be how we
eventually win the war in Iraq – if it happens. … There are encouraging signs
that the peace and participation message does resonate with many of the more
moderate Sunni and Shia warring factions."
18) Iraqis move into outback to create new peace
TV http://www.jordantimes.com/wed/news/news6.htm
By Patrick Fort
Agence France-Presse BAQUBA — Courting death in
the most dangerous country in the world, six Iraqis have abandoned their
families to set up a radio and TV network to promote peace from a heavily guarded
desert outpost.Their antenna rising 350 metres out of the middle of nowhere
next to buildings protected by American and Iraqi soldiers, the six-member team
gushes fervent hope about how their message of cohabitation can quell the
sectarian killing fields. Nevertheless most of the original line-up has already
quit, overcome by fear of working for the media in a country where 155 industry
workers, 95 per cent of them Iraqi, have perished in the four years since the
US-led invasion."I received threats. They say 'stop doing this job'. But I
believe in this job, I can't quit," said Samir Khamis, a 28-year-old Sunni
Arab and one of the co-founders of the Independent Radio and Television Network
(IRTN).Officially inaugurated this week, yet operational for several months,
the flagship studio lies a short drive outside Baqouba, the capital of the
violent province of Diyala and rife with myriad Shiite and Sunni extremist
groups."I call my family but I haven't seen them in five months. I ask God
to save them and make them safe. We work 14 hours a day, from eight in the
morning until 10 at night," said Samir, convinced the slog will eventually
pay off. And the sacrifices are hefty. Deprived of their loved ones, living
conditions are tough. The network lacks basics such as running water. What they
have in abundance are US and Iraqi soldiers."We are very secure. We are in
the desert but we have everything to broadcast and to live. It is time where we
have to try to stop the violence," said Samir a news reader. Aged just 20,
beautiful brunette Donia Abdul Latif is presenter, DJ, editor and producer
rolled into one, bringing a youthful ideological fervency to the job and
declaring that her dream is to help Iraqis and help them unify."I am
trying to help Iraqis get freedom. Freedom is not to fight or to kill someone.
Freedom is to speak freely, to be free in the society, to get dressed the way
you want, to do what you want," said the blue-eyed girl.She also wants to
defend women's rights from growing Islamic conservatism. Donia says her Shiite
and Sunni parents are supportive, even if they did try to dissuade her from
working for TV for security reasons."This job is very dangerous for us. It
is dangerous to talk freely. But if I am scared and everyone is scared then who
will help Iraq? Nobody." Staff are promoting IRTN as the only independent
homegrown media. "There are no independent media in Iraq. We need to unify
our people," says Samir.Despite their independence claims, the news
station is guarded round-the-clock by American and Iraqi troops. The United
States has also put up most of the network's provisional budget of between
$150,000 and $200,000 for 2007.Other benefactors are the Iraqi government,
which has been accused of actively participating in Shiite-Sunni sectarian warfare,
and the province of Diyala, north of Baghdad. Americans provide logistical
support and buy space for public awareness campaigns.Besides current donations,
the giant antenna they are using was actually built on the orders of former
president Saddam Hussein in 1986.Samir is adamant Uncle Sam has not morphed
into Big Brother: "The Americans are here just for protection. But they
don't control our message. They don't want to control." "Some of us
may die. That may be the cost of freedom. But let us not be so afraid of dying
that we forget how to live... Courage always runs one step faster than
fear," said Shiite co-founder Rafed Mahmoud."I was never free under
Saddam Hussein. Now the terrorists, insurgents and death squads want me to live
in fear again. I will not," he added. The network may want to broadcast
messages of peace and unity in a bid to overcome sectarian warfare that has
left tens of thousands dead since American troops invaded in 2003, but the vast
majority of staff have already quit.Fifty-five people were part of the original
line-up: Only six remain. It seems extremists across the board took issue with
their message of peace and love, coercing the others through fear or
intimidation to quit.Paul McKellips, a consultant behind the project who is
paid by the US administration, said IRTN was trying to diversify its revenue
and broadcasters and was even looking into how to do e-commerce."These
folks are heroes. We have to help them," he said
19) U.S. military foils insurgent attack Tue Mar 27, 3:53 PM ET U.S.
soldiers foiled two suicide truck bombings against their base in a small town
west of Baghdad and killed as many as 15 attackers, the U.S. military reported
Tuesday.The attacks began when a water truck tried to drive into the base just
north of Karmah, a town not far from the city of Fallujah, at about 2 p.m.
Monday. A soldier opened fire and the truck bomb exploded.The military said 30
insurgents responded with small-arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades and
mortars. Five minutes into the firefight, a dump truck following the same path
as the exploded water truck tried to smash into the base but the driver was
shot and the load of explosives blew up.The military estimated it killed 15
insurgents in the fight and said eight soldiers were wounded. Seven of the
wounded returned to duty after treatment by medics at the site. One soldier was
hospitalized.
20) U.S. commander: No
civil war in Iraq www.cnn.com
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq isn't engulfed in a civil war,
and there are signs of hope outside strife-torn Baghdad, the new leader of U.S.
Central Command says.But the country needs "more pervasive security"
-- as well as a more efficient and responsive government -- before the United
States starts withdrawing troops, says Adm. William J. Fallon, whose command is
based at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, and covers the Middle East,
central Asia and eastern Africa.Fallon, interviewed by CNN's Kyra Phillips,
stresses that security in Iraq is clearly the biggest challenge for the nascent
government and the U.S.-led coalition.Fallon says there can be no Iraqi
confidence in the new governmental system without strides in keeping the peace.
If law and order can't be implemented, he says, "we're not going to be
able to get there."Fallon echoes the view articulated earlier this month
by his commander on the ground in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus."As citizens
feel safer, conditions will be set for the resumption and improvement of basic
services," which are necessary for stability, Petraeus said March 8.Fallon
says he doesn't expect U.S. troops to be mired down in Iraq for decades. And he
doesn't foresee the development of a government that is a "mirror
image" of the U.S. political system. (Watch commander on when U.S. troops might come home)The admiral, who
replaced Gen. John Abizaid on March 16, says Iraqis desperately want peace, a
fact borne out by many informal discussions with citizens when he walked along
Iraqi streets Monday."All they said was they want more security. They want
to get out on the streets and do things," he says.But they have to want it
enough "to do everything they can to help us identify those who don't
abide by rules of justice." (Watch why Fallon finds security to be top challenge
)Fallon says he
doesn't think Iraq is in a civil war.A Pentagon report this month said some
elements of the Iraq conflict fit the definition of civil war, but the term
"does not adequately capture the complexity of the conflict."He says
there are places in Iraq that aren't besieged by violence and are, in contrast
to Baghdad, booming and prosperous -- such as Irbil in the Kurdish region in
northern Iraq -- and there are other areas that are relatively quiet.He says
that reconstruction strides are successful in Anbar province, west of Baghdad,
and places such as Falluja, where he says 200,000 people have returned after
fighting subsided during the past few years.He characterizes the Iraqi conflict
as being driven by "small factions fighting each other.""There
are killers still on the loose in this country. I think it's a very small
percentage of the population, and the idea that this whole country is at war
with one another is absolutely not true. There are zealots here that will stop
at nothing," he says.The Pentagon report said warfare in Iraq has morphed
from a "predominantly Sunni-led insurgency against foreign occupation to a
struggle for the division of political and economic influence among sectarian
groups and organized criminal activity."The war has been characterized by
fighting between the majority Shiite Muslim sect and the minority Sunni
Muslims, who were in power under Saddam Hussein's regime.On Iran's role in
Iraq, Fallon says the Shiite nation is backing Iraq's Shiite militias.When he
was asked, "What are you going to do about Iran?" Fallon says,
"The question is what is Iran going to do about its behavior." (Watch Fallon explain how Iran is "unhelpful"
)
21)
U.S. says caught Iraq car bombers blamed for 900 dead
Tue Mar 27, 2007 http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2007-03-27T171106Z_01_YAT724629_RTRUKOT_0_TEXT0.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsArt-L1-RelatedNews-1
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces captured two leaders
of a major car bomb cell responsible for attacks that killed around 900 Iraqis,
mostly in the Shi'ite district of Sadr City in Baghdad, the U.S. military said
on Tuesday.It said in two separate statements that the two men were caught
during operations in Adhamiya, a mainly Sunni Arab area in northern Baghdad, on
March 21."It is estimated that since November, the car bombs from this
cell have killed approximately 900 innocent Iraqi citizens," one of the statements
said.It said another 1,950 had been wounded.U.S. and Iraqi forces are engaged in a major security crackdown
in Baghdad aimed at stopping sectarian violence that has been killing hundreds
of people a week in recent months.American commanders have said the crackdown
has succeeded in substantially reducing the number of people killed by
sectarian death squads, but car bombs and other bombings have remained a
problem and U.S. forces have stepped up efforts to disrupt insurgent cells
responsible for them.U.S. military spokesman Major Steven Lamb said the two men
were part of the same cell but he had no information on whether they were
linked to al Qaeda or another insurgent group.The Iraqi government and American
commanders say al Qaeda and other Sunni Arab insurgent groups are responsible
for most of the major car bomb attacks in Baghdad.The first of the two suspects
was captured when U.S. forces noticed his vehicle weaving in and out of traffic
and his driver ignored signals to stop.The second was detained around seven
hours later after U.S. forces received "actionable intelligence" that
led them to stop a passing vehicle, the statement said.
22) Saudi Terrorists
killed in Iraq by Anbar Tribal Militias
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.398747166&par=0
Baghdad, 26 March (AKI) - Four alleged Saudi
terrorists belonging to the Iraqi al-Qaeda organisation were killed in recent
days during violent clashes with tribal militias in the Sunni province of
al-Anbar. Sources of the so-called al-Anbar Salvation Council - a coalition of
tribes opposing the Islamic State in the restive western province - have told
the Saudi newspaper al-Watan that they had killed at least 70 members of the
terrorist group in the past two weeks, including many Arab foreigners. The inhabitants of al-Hamadiya village
recounted that they had seen fierce fighting and had found various bodies in
the area including those of the four Saudis. One of them, whom the council
sources identified as Abdullah Abu Abdel Rahman, had arrived in the area three
months earlier and was considered a reference point for young people combatting
American troops in Iraq. According to Arab newspaper al-Hayat the "1920
Brigades" another insurgent group, is also fighting alongside the tribal
militias of al-Anbar against al-Qaeda fighters and together they have managed
to drive them back from the area around Abu Ghreib.
23)
Major terrorist leader captured west of Baghdad
http://pajamasmedia.com/2007/03/baghdad_report_taking_a_breath.php
Ahmed Farhan Hassan has been captured. This operative is described
as a senior aide to Abu Omar al-Baghdadi the leader of al-Qaeda’s so-called
Islamic State in Iraq. That would make him a reasonably big fish, one from
which, it would seem, good intelligence can be extracted.
Local Iraqi TV aired recorded confessions of Ahmed Farhan Hassan.
Hassan, who was captured in Abu Ghraib west of Baghdad a few days ago, spoke
about his connection to al-Baghdadai, and I’m paraphrasing: “I have four emirs
operating under my command. I receive money directly from Abu Omar and then I
distribute it among the members of my units according to the number and size of
operations they carry out.”Quoting Iraqi military officials, the TV report
added that Hassan admitted to have been responsible for some 300 murders and
about 200 kidnapping incidents since he joined al-Qaeda three years
ago.Overall, the security operation continues to gain more support among the
political parties, including some that were skeptical in the beginning out of
fear the operation would not be impartial. Today a spokesman of the Accord
Front, to which VP Hashimi and deputy PM Zobaie belong, affirmed the AF’s
support for the ongoing operation saying, “Our bloc, seeing the security forces
covering Baghdad’s districts and operating without discrimination, is now
convinced that the operation is unbiased.” On the other hand extremist parties
of both sects continue their criticism of the operation, in stupid and somewhat
amusing ways. One case I found funny is related to the recent discovery of a
large weapon cache that included 470 anti-tank land-mines in Jameela district
near Sadr city. The discovery of the stash was reported by MNF-I website,
as well as Qasim Ata the official spokesman of Baghdad operations.
24) Insurgents
report a split with Al Qaeda in Iraq
The U.S. hopes to take advantage of the Sunni rebel
schism, which has resulted in combat in some areas. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-insurgents27mar27,0,7601497,full.story?coll=la-home-headlines
By Ned Parker
Times Staff Writer March 27, 2007
BAGHDAD — Insurgent leaders and Sunni Arab politicians say divisions between
insurgent groups and Al Qaeda in Iraq have widened and have led to combat in
some areas of the country, a schism that U.S. officials hope to exploit.The
Sunni Arab insurgent leaders said they disagreed with the leadership of Al
Qaeda in Iraq over tactics, including attacks on civilians, as well as over
command of the movement.U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, on his last day in
Iraq, said Monday that American officials were actively pursuing negotiations
with the Sunni factions in an effort to further isolate Al Qaeda."Iraqis
are uniting against Al Qaeda," Khalilzad said. "Coalition commanders
have been able to engage some insurgents to explore ways to collaborate in
fighting the terrorists."Insurgent leaders from two of the prominent
groups fighting U.S. troops said the divisions between their forces and Al
Qaeda were serious. They have led to skirmishes in Al Anbar province, in
western Iraq, and have stopped short of combat in Diyala, east of Baghdad, they
said in interviews with the Los Angeles Times.Al Qaeda in Iraq, which has taken
responsibility for many of the most brutal attacks on civilians here, is made
up primarily of foreign fighters. Although it shares a name with Osama bin
Laden's group, it is unclear how much the two coordinate their activities.The
General Command of the Iraqi Armed Forces, a small Baath Party insurgent
faction, told the Los Angeles Times it had split with Al Qaeda in Iraq in
September, after the assassination of two of its members in Al Anbar.
"Al Qaeda killed two of our best members, the Gen. Mohammed and Gen. Saab,
in Ramadi, so we took revenge and now we fight Al Qaeda," said the group's
spokesman, who called himself Abu Marwan.In Diyala, the 1920 Revolution
Brigade, a coalition of Islamists and former Baath Party military officers, is
on the verge of cutting ties with Al Qaeda."In the past, we agreed in
terms of the goal of resisting the occupation and expelling the occupation. We
have some disagreements with Qaeda, especially about targeting civilians,
places of worship, state civilian institutions and services," said a
fighter with the brigade who identified himself with a nom de guerre, Haj
Mahmoud abu Bakr.
"Now we reached a dead end and we disavow what Qaeda is doing. But until
now, we haven't thought about fighting with them," he added. "We are
counseling them, and in case they continue, we will cut off the aid and the
logistical and intelligence support."Shiite Muslim government officials
said the Iraqi government was talking to insurgents both about fighting the
radical movement and reaching a truce.The government has proposed a trial
cease-fire period to the 1920 Revolution Brigade, the Islamic Army in Iraq and
other factions in western Baghdad. In return, the Iraqi government would mount
a major reconstruction drive in battle-scarred Sunni areas, a senior member of
Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's Islamic Dawa Party said.A rupture between Al
Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgents could prove a significant break for the
Iraqi government and the Americans. But there are many potential drawbacks.
Sunni politicians describe the fighting against Al Qaeda in Iraq as localized
and emphasize that in some areas the various movements exist in harmony.The
Iraqi factions are also believed to engage in turf wars that could sabotage any
concerted effort against Al Qaeda in Iraq, the Sunni politicians said.The
insurgents prefer to negotiate with the Americans and to bypass the Shiite-led
government, which Sunni Arabs deeply distrust.Khalilzad heralded the developing
rift between insurgent groups and Al Qaeda in Iraq as "the key issue of
the current period."
He said insurgents were "in touch with the government seeking
reconciliation and cooperation" in both the conflict with Al Qaeda in Iraq
and reconciliation with Maliki's government.Khalilzad acknowledged that he had
met with insurgent groups last spring to try to draw them into the political
process, but had barred followers of Al Qaeda in Iraq from his plans.Three
Sunni politicians, most of them with contacts in the Sunni insurgency, said
insurgent groups were struggling over domestic issues, even as Al Qaeda in Iraq
pursued an international agenda."All Iraqi resistance groups are in real
dissension with Al Qaeda network in Iraq," said Khalaf Ayan, a member of
the Sunni Tawafiq bloc in parliament."Al Qaeda is pursuing a different
agenda — an international one and not an Iraqi" agenda, he said. "Al
Qaeda should join Iraqis and not the opposite. What happened is that Al Qaeda
had targeted leaders of many Iraqi groups. That is why the resistance is in big
conflict with Al Qaeda and is fighting against it."The U.S. military had
reported tension between Al Qaeda in Iraq and insurgent groups in 2005. But the
movement, then under the leadership of Abu Musab Zarqawi, sought to repair
relations through the establishment of a resistance umbrella association.
Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. airstrike in June.In October, Al Qaeda and its
Iraqi affiliates announced the establishment of an Islamic State of Iraq, but
insurgents have spurned it, saying it was a ploy to take over the insurgency."The
Islamic Army and 1920 Revolution Brigade are fighting Al Qaeda," said
Saleh Mutlak, a Sunni member of parliament. "Al Qaeda wants them to join
Al Qaeda or the Islamic State of Iraq. They refused and this is why they are
fighting now."Mutlak said that there had been heavy fighting in Abu
Ghraib, west of Baghdad, and that unrest had also spread to Diyala in eastern
Iraq.Iyad Samarrai, a Sunni member of parliament from the Iraqi Islamic Party,
confirmed clashes in the last three months in the Abu Ghraib area and also in
Taji, north of Baghdad.
But he said the Islamic Army and 1920 Revolution Brigade were coexisting with
Al Qaeda in Iraq in other areas.Samarrai explained that the spate of violence
stemmed from the refusal by the 1920 Revolution Brigade and the Islamic Army to
rule out negotiations with the Americans after Sunni politicians were elected to
parliament in December 2005."When those resistance groups decided it was
time to review their strategy and consider the possibility of negotiating with
the Americans and being part of the political process, Al Qaeda refused this
and made attacks against them," Samarrai said.Shiite government officials,
meanwhile, said their talks on fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq, which were taking
place as part of larger discussions on a peace deal, were facing difficulties,
including the fragmentation of some insurgent organizations.Another hurdle is
the insistence by insurgent groups to go back to "square one, to rewrite
the constitution from the beginning, to have elections from the
beginning," said Shiite Haider Abadi, a member of parliament from Maliki's
Dawa Party. He confirmed that the talks included the 1920 Revolution Brigade,
the Islamic Army and at least five other groups.
25) General:
U.S. captures car bomb ringleaders
By Rick Jervis, USA TODAY
BAGHDAD — U.S. forces have
arrested the leaders of one of the deadliest car-bomb-making networks in
Baghdad, a military spokesman said.After months of
intelligence gathering, U.S. troops captured the ringleader of the Rusafa car
bomb network and three of his lieutenants on Wednesday, Army Maj. Gen. William
Caldwell said in an interview Saturday with USA TODAY.The group, named after
the area in Baghdad where it operated, has been linked to at least 14 car bomb
attacks since early February that claimed the lives of 265 Iraqis and wounded
650 others, Caldwell said. Among the attacks was a blast Feb. 3 that killed
more than 100 people in a Shiite market in downtown Baghdad, he said."This
car bomb network was a major one operating in Baghdad," said Caldwell, the
top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq. "They were responsible for ahorrific
amount of civilian casualties."It was the biggest bust of car bombmakers
since the start of the Baghdad security plan last month, Caldwell said. The
plan seeks to restore order by simultaneously targeting Shiite death squads and
Sunni insurgents who often use car bombs in Shiite areas to foment sectarian
violence.While the number of sectarian killings in the capital linked to death
squads has dropped since the start of the security plan, car bomb attacks have
been harder to stop. They continue to blast through markets and checkpoints
around Iraq, often targeting Shiite neighborhoods.On Saturday, a construction
truck filled with explosives and bricks drove past a checkpoint and detonated
next to a police station in southern Baghdad's Dora neighborhood, killing 33
police officers, the U.S. military said.Caldwell cautioned that car bomb rings
such as the Rusafa operation often regroup quickly and launch more
attacks."It doesn't mean we have completely stopped them," Caldwell
said. "These organizations will regenerate themselves. But each time they
do, they should be less effective, less capable."It is difficult to break
up an entire network at once, said Toby Dodge, an Iraqi expert with the
London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.Car bomb rings are
often a collaboration between Islamic radicals and specially trained former
members of Saddam Hussein's government, he said.Units are assigned different
tasks, such as smuggling jihadists into Iraq, building bombs or choosing
targets, Dodge said. "It's a fluid, multifaceted operation," he said.
"The way these networks were created, you could hit one aspect of it but
it's so flexible, it's hard to get the whole thing at once."However, the
arrests may show that U.S. forces are making progress in information gathering,
said Andrew Krepinevich, an analyst at the Washington-based Center for Strategic
and Budgetary Assessments."This is significant to the extent that it
indicates our intelligence about the enemy is improving. This war is driven by
intelligence, not firepower," Krepinevich said."That's why providing
security to the population and improving their lives is key. The people know
who runs these car bomb operations. But they will only tell us if they want us
to succeed in our efforts, and if they feel secure enough from retribution by
the insurgents," Krepinevich said.The group's financing, movement of
vehicles and transport of explosives all had trademarks of being part of the
al-Qaeda network, Caldwell said, without providing further details.On
Wednesday, U.S. forces arrested Haytham Kazim Abdallah Al-Shimari, alleged to
be the group's ringleader, in Baghdad. Al-Shimari then led U.S. troops to three
of his Rusafa associates, Caldwell said.That day, an anonymous tip into the
coalition's national hotline led authorities to a tractor-trailer filled with
explosives next to the Finance Ministry building in central Baghdad. Officials
believe the vehicle, which was disarmed by explosives experts, was linked to
the Rusafa group, Caldwell said.Caldwell would not say how many similar
networks are believed to be operating in Baghdad.
1) Italian parliament votes to extend Afghan mission Mar 27, 2007, 20:39 GMT Rome - Italy's Senate on Tuesday voted to extend the country's mission to Afghanistan, one month after Prime Minister Romano Prodi resigned over a lack of support for his foreign policy. The upper house of parliament voted 180-2 in favour of extending the mission, after opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi said his alliance would abstain from the vote. Italy has around 1,900 soldiers in Afghanistan. Opposition within the government's fragile multi-party coalition led Prodi to resign last month, though he was quickly reappointed. Prodi has a majority of only two votes in the Senate. But the Union of Christian Democrats, of Pier Fernando Casini, supported Prodi in Tuesday's vote, giving the government well over the 158 votes necessary. Italy's lower house of parliament three weeks ago also voted for the extension and continued financing of the Afghanistan mission.
2) First Afghan action
kills 122 http://www.lucianne.com/main2.asp?fcnt=331620&lcnt=331645&crank=1
KABUL A six-day Afghan military operation in the southern province of Helmand
left at least 122 militants and 12 police dead, the Defence Ministry said.
Another 27 militants and 20 police were wounded in the action, launched a day
after the Afghan New Year’s Day on March 21.It cut an important Taliban supply
route and destroyed militant strongholds, General Mohammad Zahir Azimi, a
ministry spokesman said. The operation, called Norozi (New Year), was the first
of its kind by the fledgeling Afghan forces with Nato air support, but not
ground troops.General Azimi added: “The importance for the operation is that it
was the first independent operation by Afghan forces.” Taleban strongholds near
Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand, were destroyed. Areas near Lashkar Gah
have been in the control of the Taleban and drugs traffickers. (AFP)