Article

2005-02-28 Iraq-Jordan

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Anonymous5089 2005-02-28 2:04:00 PM|| || Front Page|| [11143 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Unfortunately the terrorists have enormous resources left in money, people and munitions.

Even worse, they seem to have a steady stream of new money coming in from individual terrorist finaciers and they have plenty of young people who go to terrorist mosques.

The battle can still be lost.

Posted by mhw 2005-02-28 3:22:45 PM|| 2005-02-28 3:22:45 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 "They were storing the mortar rounds in the car engine compartment and the rounds got overheated. Two of these clowns dropped them in the tube and they exploded, blowing their legs off."

I'll bet that the media was sorely disappointed when this happened. Two of their comrades, dead.

Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2005-02-28 3:23:42 PM|| 2005-02-28 3:23:42 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 Jack Kelly can write

Posted by Frank G 2005-02-28 3:28:05 PM|| 2005-02-28 3:28:05 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 All those resources in people and money are not going to overcome the fact that most (80% +) of the Iraqi population hates them. And every bomb they explode and every murder they commit makes them hate even more. There is no way at all they can take over the country, given an effective government and army.

Consider Columbia, a government and society can survive constant terrorism, if the terrorists have little or no popular appeal.

Posted by buwaya 2005-02-28 3:40:02 PM|| 2005-02-28 3:40:02 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 buwaya,

I'm not talking about surviving. I'm talking about winning.

Btw, in Columbia the terrorists do not have anywhere near the supply of munitions the terrorists have in Iraq. Nor do they have a functioning ideology corresponding to the Salafist uber alles ideology of the terrorists in Iraq. Nonetheless, I don't think you can say the war in Columbia is 'won'; and its been going on for over a decade.

Posted by mhw 2005-02-28 3:49:31 PM|| 2005-02-28 3:49:31 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 I think mhw is right. Still can lose. But with the people in the middle east waking up, like Lebanon (causing problems for a big provider, Syria). The resourses may begin to dry up enough that thier recruiting will be diminished. At least, as this story shows, have a lower end recruiting class.

Posted by plainslow 2005-02-28 4:07:26 PM|| 2005-02-28 4:07:26 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 enormous resources left in money - Terrorism is a business and with any business you ask where is the revenue stream? As far as the Baathists are concerned the suitcases of Saadam era cash will be running low and there is no obvious replacement since the Sunni economy has collapsed. They may have plenty of men and munitions but the money is definitely running out.

Posted by phil_b 2005-02-28 4:26:53 PM|| 2005-02-28 4:26:53 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 The battle can be lost, but not the war. Look at Lebannon. It's winter. The mullahs have to be looking forward to spring break.

Posted by Mrs. Davis 2005-02-28 4:31:21 PM|| 2005-02-28 4:31:21 PM|| Front Page Top

#9 I think there are separate issues here. The insurgency cannot topple the Iraqi government. Like the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka did to the majority Sinhalese, Sunni terrorists can stage mass casualty attacks. But they cannot topple the Shiite-majority government.

How Uncle Sam could lose in Iraq is by withdrawing before we get a political environment that we can live with. Having over 100,000 troops in Iraq gives us leverage. As long as our guys are in Iraq in significant numbers, the Shiites cannot do anything they want - including installing an Iran-style Shiite Islamist government.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2005-02-28 6:19:23 PM|| [http://timurileng.blogspot.com] 2005-02-28 6:19:23 PM|| Front Page Top

#10 Not only is their recruitment probably diminishing but more importantly it sounds like their pool of intelligent willing martyrs has dried up. That is a problem they will have real trouble getting around.

Posted by RJ Schwarz 2005-02-28 7:19:22 PM|| [http://rjschwarz.com] 2005-02-28 7:19:22 PM|| Front Page Top

#11 phil_b
I wish I could be as optimistic as you regarding the money. Frankly, I thought the terrorists would suffer a crushing blow when Iraq changed its currency. They suffered a blow but recovered. I presume they are getting funds from Salafist Saudis and probably some from the Iranian side and some from the proceeds of kidnapping, extortion and robbery. That's a lot of sources to shut down.

My hope is that they will start running short of munitions but that depends on a lot of factors for which I don't have a good theory.

Posted by mhw 2005-02-28 7:43:27 PM|| 2005-02-28 7:43:27 PM|| Front Page Top

#12 What happened to the truck loads of money taken from the central bank?

Posted by SwissTex 2005-02-28 8:17:09 PM|| 2005-02-28 8:17:09 PM|| Front Page Top

#13 That, ST, is an excellent question. I'm guessing Banque Paribas.

Posted by Matt 2005-02-28 8:50:06 PM|| 2005-02-28 8:50:06 PM|| Front Page Top

#14 In the war against the insurgents do not expect a final "victory." There won't be one. The battle has been won - the war ongoing. The free Iraqis have won their first battle - the facsists are slowly losing their war.

Posted by JP 2005-02-28 9:31:12 PM|| 2005-02-28 9:31:12 PM|| Front Page Top

#15 I'm still wondering if any of the bigger American (term used loosely in this context) journalists or their Eurotrash counterparts were on Saddam's payroll. All those zillions of dollars raked off Oil-For-Fraud can buy one hell of a lot of friendly press.

Posted by Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) 2005-02-28 11:23:04 PM|| 2005-02-28 11:23:04 PM|| Front Page Top

#16 JP is right. However, this will be a war of attrition. If Syria starts to fold, that may mean good news for the people of:
1. Lebanon--they could get their country back.
2. Iraq---it will greatly reduce terrorism by drying up the personnel and resources.
3. Israel---Hizb'Allah will lose a base and the northern terrorist threat to Israel will diminish.
4. Syria---they may get their country back from the thugocracy.
5. Iran---The MMs will become more isolated. The people and Just Plain Joes will see what is happening and will make demands of the MMs.
6. Saudi Arabia---More pressure will be put on the Princes to change or get the hell out.

Just like WW2, victory just did not happen. Little things went right, big things went wrong, more things went right than wrong, momentum built. But it was a long hard slog. Same here.

Posted by Alaska Paul 2005-02-28 11:29:55 PM|| 2005-02-28 11:29:55 PM|| Front Page Top

23:55 Alaska Paul
23:41 Dan
23:36 Frank G
23:34 Mike Kozlowski
23:29 Alaska Paul
23:25 Kalle (kafir forever)
23:23 Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo)
23:12 Alaska Paul
23:11 Snump Huperesing6112
22:35 Frank G
22:17 Sock Puppet of Doom
22:07 Thraing Hupoluper1864
21:56 Frank G
21:48 Pappy
21:41 Pappy
21:40 trailing wife
21:38 trailing wife
21:34 trailing wife
21:31 JP
21:30 Frank G
21:22 TMH
21:15 Rafael
21:14 Sock Puppet of Doom
21:09 Rafael