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| Iraq |
| US winning over foreign fighters in Iraq |
| 2005-11-29 |
| The U.S. is seeing significantly fewer foreign fighters on the battlefields of Iraq, because the coalition has killed or captured scores of terrorists in recent months and is doing a better job of securing the long border with Syria. But the U.S. military has noticed in recent weeks a willingness of young Iraqis to become suicide bombers, once the monopoly of ideologically driven foreign jihadists. "We are killing them," a senior Pentagon official said yesterday, when asked about shrinking foreign-fighter numbers in Iraq. The trend is one reason that the Bush administration is talking more confidently about reducing the American troop presence next year to less than a base level of 138,000. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has said the current 160,000 level will revert to 138,000 after the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections. Defense sources said the deployment of newly emerging Iraqi brigades along the Syria border and better aerial surveillance has slowed the flow of foreigners. "It appears there has been a downturn, and that is partly due to increased security along the border with Syria," said a U.S. counterintelligence official, who asked not to be named. "Syria was the primary entry point for most of those foreign fighters. Stepped-up efforts to stem the flow is having an impact." But a smaller pool of suicide bombers has forced the foreign fighters' main leader, Abu Musab Zarqawi, to recruit Iraqis, and some are enlisting, the counterterrorism official said. The starkest evidence of this troubling new development is that Iraqi suicide bombers carried out the Amman, Jordan, hotel bombings. Foreign fighters, who are affiliated with Zarqawi's terror group al Qaeda in Iraq, make up the smallest of the three main insurgent groups fighting U.S. forces. But they are the most lethal, responsible for the mass killings of Shi'ites and other civilians via car bombs targeting schools, mosques, markets, hotels and cafes. U.S. officials always have had a difficult time estimating the number of Zarqawi's terrorists in Iraq, giving ranges of several thousand up to 10,000. The counterterrorism official said current estimates put the number from the "high hundreds" to "somewhere over 1,000." "The numbers are not exact," the official said. "Definitely, there has been a downturn." U.S. officials who have served in Iraq say Zarqawi runs a gruesomely efficient terror organization. Members operate in small cells, moving from town to town and house to house as they build car-borne bombs and train new suicide attackers. One official said that in a matter of days, al Qaeda members can recruit a new terrorist, affix him with a bomb and assign him a target. But there have been signs of disenchantment within the organization. An intercepted letter from a top Zarqawi lieutenant in Mosul complained about a lack of money and experienced terrorists. U.S. military commanders have said that some of those captured say they were misled by recruiters about what America is trying to accomplish in Iraq. In a recent briefing, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch said coalition troops have killed more than 100 members of al Qaeda in Iraq in recent months. Zarqawi "still has capabilities, including recruiting suicide bombers," Gen. Lynch said. "The forces will continue their operations and fight their way to the elections to deny him these capabilities." Lt. Gen. John Vines, the U.S. tactical commander in Iraq, declined to provide a "body count," but said a series of counterinsurgency sweeps are taking a toll on the enemy. "What we do see indicators of are the numbers of foreign fighters that are showing up in a variety of venues, and we believe those numbers are significantly less, perhaps is less than half as many as they were in the summer," Gen. Vines said. "We see evidence that we're making considerable progress in that regard." A U.S. intelligence official said, "A lot of these people should not be called foreign fighters. They should be called 'foreign ordnances' because they blow themselves up. They don't fight." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #5 I love how the media always want to be sure to drive home the point that the enemy is replacing thier losses regenerating, No sh*t sherlock, does anyone remember the begining of this war were everyone came to the conclusion that the radical muslims number around 20% of the total muslim world population? That is a hell of a lot of people, I would love to be able to ask the reporters one question "Mr. Reporter you say the enemy continues to regenerate I would like to ask your personal opinion were do you think these Jihadi's would be going if not Iraq???" Not to mention the fact that in every war the enemy will regenerate their military losses its called replacements, in WW2 the germans regenerated their losses steadily until a certian point was reached that the regeneration was kids and old men but the numbers were still thier its called War. The enemy is bleeding bad they are using dogs, tards, parents of young jihadis who already have been spent (the Jordan bomber was the parents of 3 Jihadis that were already thier 5.56 ticket). The terrrorist have called on the leadership reserve in Saudi to replace losses in country all over the Radical's terrirtory thier papers are filled with obits from Iraq. I am not saying we can bleed the Jihadi's to death in Iraq but wer are keeping thier resources diverted away from US and to Iraq and when the Iraqi army stand up we pull back AQ will be stuck with a choice, give up the Iraq fight and we suddenly achieve our goal of a fully stable Iraq or continue the fight with no options of end or killing of Infedels who stay safe in thier bases and overhead. I think this more enphasis on recuiting natives would be AQ's exit stradegy I think they see they are not getting thier caliphate but continued violence will help them save face. I personaly think the insurgency has long been broken the car bombing of civilians will continue for some time hell look at Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan all nations who have militarys and govs in no position to be overrun but they cant stop the occational act terrrorism on civilians, Iraq has been this way to me for quite some time now and will continue after we leave if we do it right. I look back to when the insurgency had real power and they controlled cities Falluja, Ramadi, Mosul, ect... they were regularly making attacks in the South, they were over running Iraqi army bases and police stations to the point of were I remember CNN film of terrorist taking the Iraqi police weapons off the rack after taking the police station a couple of times, when the road from the air port to the green zone was damm near no-mans-land. Our plan is finanly coming together from the begining our plan was conquer Saddam, set up Iraqi gov, hold security while we trained a Iraqi army, draw up constitution, then turn over the new constitutionaly elected Iraqi gov the country control with thier Iraqi army units taking over security replacing our people were we can fall back into a reserve position of rapid reaction froce/insurance policy against neighbors. The LLL's who never supported the war in the first place have been allowed to make all kinds of retarted points to complain about from "we should have attacked Iran, N. Korea" like they would have supporte that, to we should have not disbanded the Iraqi army which would have left the Sunni in power and how could we call Iraq a democracy when 20% of the pop dominated 80% how could have the Sunni ever allowed a vote that any idiot could have seen the result of, and them in control of the military would have been the easy way out the "status qou" of a having a strong man in control of the masses that was not our goal going in and it never should have been, it was very obvious that the status qou was not working how anyone could believe if we kept doing the same old thing we could expect different results I dont know. We chose the hard way but the right and the good way. We are winning we are succeding and if Bush would just get up regularly and continuously rally the people up then keep the rallied and quit just being defensive call the damm peace love and happiness people out the case is easy to make he just got to do it he is the freekin pres part of his job in war is not being the general its keeping the people at home rallied. |
| Posted by: C-Low 2005-11-29 12:04 |
| #4 But the U.S. military has noticed in recent weeks a willingness of young Iraqis to become suicide bombers, once the monopoly of ideologically driven foreign jihadists. "We are killing them," a senior Pentagon official said yesterday, when asked about shrinking foreign-fighter numbers in Iraq. Not a problem. Kill the home-grown ones too. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-11-29 10:20 |
| #3 It's nice to hear the truth about the suicide bombers. It also lends to the thought we actually have a chance for success in Iraq. All the crazies and mentally ill that were once willing to blow themselves up are dwindling down and those to be recruited have had plenty of time to see their death will have little to no effect in this war. America is there to stay and a no matter how many suicide bomber attack we will not run. Bet SMS won't run it! |
| Posted by: 49 pan 2005-11-29 08:16 |
| #2 In the past Zarquawi has used 'involuntary' suicide recruits - mental defectives who didn't know they were on suicide missions, drivers who thought they were just delivering the vehicle while the triggerman drove behind, or men whose families were held hostage. Is he 'recruiting' his new native Iraqi suicide bombers the same way? If so, he has to be making enemies, even among families who would be proud if their child voluntarily attacked the Americans. How many enemies can he survive? |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2005-11-29 07:48 |
| #1 allan is going to run out places in Hell to stuff these homicide bombers. Are they in for a shock. |
| Posted by: anymouse 2005-11-29 07:43 |