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View Full Version : Well, I'll be damned.....some GOOD news.



lily
04-20-2007, 10:09 PM
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18234571/


U.S. describes Sunni rebels battling al-Qaida
Infighting a plus, general says, but ‘we’re not making allies with anybody’


Updated: 2 hours, 57 minutes ago
MUQDADIYAH, Iraq - At least two major insurgent groups are battling al-Qaida
in provinces outside Baghdad, American military commanders said Friday, an
indication of a deepening rift between Sunni guerrilla groups in Iraq.

U.S. officers say a growing number of Sunni tribes are turning against
al-Qaida, repelled by the terror group's sheer brutality and austere
religious extremism. The tribes are competing with al-Qaida for influence
and control over diminishing territory in the face of U.S. assaults, the
officers say. The influx of Sunni fighters to areas outside the capital in
advance of the security crackdown in Baghdad may have further unsettled the
region.

"This is a big turning point," U.S. Maj. David Baker said Friday in the
Diyala provincial capital of Baqouba. "If they are fighting against each
other, it's better than them fighting against us."



Even Sunnis who want to cooperate with the Shiite-led government are
becoming more emboldened to speak out against al-Qaida. In Anbar province,
more than 200 Sunni sheiks have decided to form a political party to oppose
the terror group, participants said Friday.

The clashes have erupted over the last two to three months, pitting al-Qaida
in Iraq against the nationalist 1920 Revolution Brigades in Diyala and
Salahuddin provinces north of Baghdad as well as Anbar to the west, U.S.
officers said. In Diyala, another hard-line militant Sunni group, the Ansar
al-Sunna Army, is also fighting al-Qaida, they said.

'Goals ... at odds'
"It's happening daily," Lt. Col. Keith Gogas said Thursday in an interview
at an Army base in Muqdadiyah, 60 miles northeast of Baghdad. "Our read on
it is that that the more moderate, if you will, Sunni insurgents, are
finding that their goals and al-Qaida's goals are at odds."

American commanders cite al-Qaida's severe brand of Islam, which is so
extreme that in Baqouba, al-Qaida has warned street vendors not to place
tomatoes beside cucumbers because the vegetables are different genders, Col.
David Sutherland said.

Such radicalism has fueled sectarian violence in Iraq and redrawn the
demographics of many mixed Sunni-Shiite towns in Diyala, where tens of
thousands of Shiites have been forced to flee large population centers.

Previously 55 percent Sunni, 45 percent Shiite, Baqouba — where rival
insurgents also have clashed — is today 80 percent Sunni and 20 percent
Shiite, Sutherland said.

The rift among insurgents has also been sparked by reports that some
militants have been negotiating with the government and U.S. officials, who
are trying to draw Sunni groups away from al-Qaida.

Iraqi police and security forces — not Americans — have been negotiating
with 1920 Revolution Brigades fighters, who have said "they want some help
against al-Qaida," Baker said.

"That's a plus for this place, and we're going to try to exploit that," he
said. "We're not making allies with anybody ... but we are monitoring what's
going on."

American officers say the clashes have weakened the insurgency. In the last
month in Diyala, 1920 Revolution Brigades fighters eased up attacks on
Americans, largely turning their guns on al-Qaida, Baker said.

On Tuesday, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, who heads al-Qaida's umbrella group
Islamic State in Iraq, urged militants in an audiotape to stop spilling each
other's blood and unite against American forces and the government. He told
rival groups he wanted to end their disagreements and vowed to punish any of
his fighters who kill other militants.

stephanie
04-21-2007, 03:58 AM
Well, I'll be damned......

avatar4321
04-21-2007, 05:05 AM
I'm not really surprised that there is good news, simply that the media is actually reporting it.

Gaffer
04-23-2007, 12:54 PM
I've been saying this for weeks. This is also the reason for so many of the bombings of market places and murdering civilians. al queda is trying to intimidate the tribes. There will be more.

gabosaurus
04-23-2007, 01:54 PM
This has been happening for quite some time. It's internal strife. Otherwise know as "Civil War."

Gaffer
04-24-2007, 08:14 PM
This has been happening for quite some time. It's internal strife. Otherwise know as "Civil War."

No in this particular case it's the iraqi's fighting al queda who are arabs from other countries.

Kathianne
04-24-2007, 08:33 PM
No in this particular case it's the iraqi's fighting al queda who are arabs from other countries.

I tried to rep this, but alas. Why are those who disagree with Bush presidency, never mind the CIC, undermining a threat to the country? My opinion, they would rather see hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of their fellow citizens killed and be able to blame him. It's sick.

lily
04-24-2007, 08:35 PM
Yep, that's our plan.:tinfoil:

gabosaurus
04-24-2007, 08:42 PM
If the Iraqis are so good at fighting the alleged "insurgents," why don't we leave them to it?

OCA
04-24-2007, 08:44 PM
Yep, that's our plan.:tinfoil:

May not be your plan but it sure helps your cause and POV, there is something wrong with that in and of itself.

Gaffer
04-24-2007, 08:48 PM
If the Iraqis are so good at fighting the alleged "insurgents," why don't we leave them to it?

They are doing it. They are taking over more and more of the fighting. The tribes are coming over to the side of the government and enlisting in the army and police. They are getting more recruits than they can handle.

If you notice most of the attacks are against civilians. They are in specific locations that al queda formerly controled. This is retaliation for turning on them. The only reason Americans are targeted at all is to benifit the lib efforts to attack Bush. The dems are being used and they can't see it.

lily
04-24-2007, 09:04 PM
May not be your plan but it sure helps your cause and POV, there is something wrong with that in and of itself.

So just how is having hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands killed advance the Democatic plan?

lily
04-24-2007, 09:06 PM
The only reason Americans are targeted at all is to benifit the lib efforts to attack Bush. The dems are being used and they can't see it.

Ok....what you want me to belive is that al-qada is targeting American soldiers in order to further the lib agenda and get at Bush?:lol:

theHawk
04-24-2007, 09:38 PM
So just how is having hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands killed advance the Democatic plan?

It worked great for the Dems when Pol Pot killed millions.

Here's to the spread of Marxism! :cheers2:

Gaffer
04-24-2007, 10:16 PM
Ok....what you want me to belive is that al-qada is targeting American soldiers in order to further the lib agenda and get at Bush?:lol:

Hawk had it right. It's the same tactic used 40 years ago. The war has gone on now because the libs are doing their cut and run routine. al queda and iran and the others watch what goes on in this country very closely. They see a division and they are moving to exploit it. The dems are playing right into their hands either out of ignorance or greed for power.

avatar4321
04-25-2007, 05:43 AM
Yep, that's our plan.:tinfoil:

What would you be doing any differently if it was your plan?

Baron Von Esslingen
04-25-2007, 09:16 AM
Is it the same "Cut & Run" plan that Reagan used in Lebanon? Thought so.

glockmail
04-25-2007, 09:22 AM
This has been happening for quite some time. It's internal strife. Otherwise know as "Civil War." It is those who want democracy against those who oppose it, therfore it is a good thing. Blood is the manure of a fledging democracy.

lily
04-25-2007, 11:53 AM
What would you be doing any differently if it was your plan?

Some of my thoughts can be found on this thread.

http://www.debatepolicy.com/showthread.php?t=2561&page=3