Ron Paul likes to reference our presence in Iraq as being that of "invaders" and "occupiers". Nevermind that, we are routinely asked to stay (and no…not by Zawahiri) by the government and those who are being terrorized by violent jihadists and insurgents. We remain at their request.
But who are the real invaders here, hmm?
Seventy percent of foreign insurgents arrested in Iraq come from Gulf countries via Syria where they were provided with forged passports, an Iraqi intelligence officer alleged in a published report Wednesday.
"They, according to their own confessions, gather in mosques in the said (Gulf) states to travel to Syria using their passports, taking with them phone numbers of individuals waiting for them there," Brig. Gen. Rashid Fleih, the assistant undersecretary for intelligence of Iraq’s Interior Ministry, told Kuwait’s Al-Qabas daily in an interview.
Arguably the most important man in Iraq and leader of the Anbar Salvation Front understands who the enemy of the Iraqi people are, and has helped to convince a coalition of Sunni tribes to work together in expelling the true invaders of their country:
Sheikh Abdul Sattar is instrumental in fighting and defeating al Qaeda; the incredibly influential Ramadi man sees al Qaeda as terrorists who seek to destroy his country and who are exploiting and murdering his people, Sunni and Shia alike.
Can someone please inform the Republican Kucinich that al-Qaeda has no business citing America’s foreign policy as the casus bellum, when Iraq does not belong to them. It belongs to the people of Iraq.
A former fetus, the “wordsmith from nantucket” was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1968. Adopted at birth, wordsmith grew up a military brat. He achieved his B.A. in English from the University of California, Los Angeles (graduating in the top 97% of his class), where he also competed rings for the UCLA mens gymnastics team. The events of 9/11 woke him from his political slumber and malaise. Currently a personal trainer and gymnastics coach.
The wordsmith has never been to Nantucket.
“Can someone please inform the Republican Kucinich that al-Qaeda has no business citing America’s foreign policy as the casus bellum, when Iraq does not belong to them. It belongs to the people of Iraq.”
You guys have been around long enough to know better! A high minded progressive man like Kucinich isn’t going to let something as nefarious as factual documentation change the content, tone or tenor of the debate.
Sheesh. Excellent find, though.
I meant to write Paul, but does it matter?
“Iraq belongs to the people of Iraq”
Hmmm, do I need to fax ALL members of the Senate informing them of this?
Excellent post, Wordsmith.
Do you think that it is worthy of note that the two largest sections of the country which we have the smallest profile is where there is the least support for insurgents?
When the Marines left al Anbar (for the most part) the locals stepped up and took on AQ themselves. Now that we have relocated the majority of our troops to Baghdad we are being killed in near record numbers.
Our troops were not the solution in al Anbar and are not the solution in Baghdad. You can tell me why I am wrong with a lot of guesses on your part but the fact is that nothing we have tried in Baghdad has stopped the violence. And the two hot beds of violence in the west, Fallujah and Ramadi have the lowest profile of US presence since the start of the war and they are standing up as we stand down.
We should be stopping Iran and Syria, not the civil war. Guard the borders, prevent the outside influences and let them decide their own fate.
Might I add that every study since 2004 has shown that almost all of the suicide bombers in Iraq (the ones killing Iraqis in particualar) are “foreign fighters”. Ask an intel professional who was or is over there…they’ll tell you it’s AQ. Read a milblog, they’ll tell you it’s AQ. Ask an Iraqi…they’ll tell you it’s AQ.
Kucinich is a loon. I’m almost ready to ask Traficant to come back!
It is a huge overstatement to claim that all foriegn born insurgents (which absolutely are the majority of the suicide bombers I agree) are AQ. The bombers from most of those neighbors are Shi’ite and therefore not AQ. My point is that it does not matter who is coming into the country to stir things up, I believe we should be watching the borders and preventing them from coming in. Everything else is a civil war which we should not be a part of.
It is working in al Anbar, it is working in Kurdistan. And our methods are not working in Baghdad.
It means little or nothing to the left to watch hard-fought for regions fall back into enemy hands. The only importance the lives of our military men and women have to the left is when the casualty lists can be used to bludgeon a conservative over the head.
They are just as capable of wasting American lives as they are wasting American tax dollars.