Akbar takes a closer look at one of the elements of the insurgents/terrorists/resistance in Iraq.
One of the major problems, facing Iraq at the moment, is the intransigent homegrown criminal element. Decades of the systematic fracture in Iraqi civil society coupled with vast current unemployment levels and three decades of bloody wars, has left thousands of young Iraqi men (from every creed and faction) with a very strong tendency and disposition towards criminality and criminal self interest.
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It is this group that also represents the logistical backbone of the terrorist structure in Iraq. These individuals are simply �hired soldiers of fortune� and they include all of the intransigent Ba�athist and Saddamite remnants, as well as opportunist, that view this war as both an opportunity for payback and a last chance to make substantial financial gains. Channelling finances from their paymaster in Syria, Iran and Saudi Arabia, (with each country having its own distinct agenda in seeing Iraq fail), they continue to provide shelter, weapons, and logistical backing to the terrorist front lines. And whilst fanatical wahhabist, from other arab states,(whom form the majority of the front line 'cannon fodder') are sent to carry out their misguided Jihadist suicide operations, these Iraqis prefer to stay in the background getting fat of the payment they receive. For them the continuation of this war represents a golden opportunity to get paid, big time, from the intelligence services of Syria or Iran, and the dumb Arab Sheiks who have nothing better to do with their money than to send it to iraq to get burnt.
Read the whole entry.
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Wretchard at Belmont Club looks at the changing nature of insurgencies.
Wretchard draws one possible conclusion that supports Akbar's observations on the criminal element in the Iraqi insurgency.
Rather than a strong central government, the strategic goal of the Iraqi insurgency may in fact be chaos; the endpoint not a nation-state but warlord-power in an atmosphere congenial to criminal activity.
Raed Jarrar's support for the insurgents will not bring back his "national leader," Saddam Hussein, but in fact may simply create "an atmosphere congenial to criminal activity."
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Just another day in the life of a terrorist in Iraq.
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Just like Raed Jarrar, who refused to blame the insurgents for murdering Ruzicka, Riverbend tells us how a member of her family was almost killed by a suicide bomber but doesn't blame the insurgents for the attack.
Sad -- really, really sad.
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