Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

Iraq

Iraq: 70 Al-Qaeda surrender to US forces

2008-07-14

Baghdad, 14 July (AKI ) - Seventy militants, many of whom are reportedly linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq, have surrendered to US forces in the Sunni area of Baiji, west of Baghdad.

According to the Arab newspaper al-Hayat, the militants surrendered in the area of al-Siniya in front of local tribal chiefs.

The US military had presented to Sunni tribes a list of 150 people they were seeking from the local population on charges related to terrorism, murder and kidnappings.

After the mediation of tribal leaders, almost half of those who surrendered agreed to return to their original clans, hand over their arms to the Americans and promise to give up armed conflict if their names were removed from the most wanted list. "Most of the people who were arrested are from al-Qaeda," said an Iraqi police source. "The rest were part of the Rashidin Army and the Islamic Army of Iraq>Islamic Army of Iraq."

The Rashidin Army and the Islamic Army of Iraq are among a number of Islamist insurgent groups formed in Iraq following the 2003 allied invasion.

Link

Iraq

Insurgents Turn Themselves In to U.S., Iraqi Troops - by the hundreds

2008-06-30

Iraq's Salahuddin province has been known for years as a violent stronghold of Sunni insurgents, including al-Qaida. But lately it has been relatively quiet. U.S. military units there say that's because former rebel fighters are turning themselves in by the hundreds including some who had been the most virulently anti-American leaders.

One of the most prominent insurgents to come over to the American side is Mullah Nadhum al-Jubouri. Jubouri was a spokesman for the Islamic Army of Iraq, a Sunni insurgent group that was once closely allied with al-Qaida.

Guarded by a group of masked gunmen, the cleric called for holy war against the Americans and for the defense of Sunnis, a call that was widely understood to mean attacks against the Shiites.

Mullah Nadhum, now 30, doesn't deny his violent past, but he says militants took up weapons because they believed they were defending their country against the occupation. He says his group eventually broke with al-Qaida because it rejected al-Qaida's terrorist tactics of attacks against Iraqi civilians.

Mullah Nadhum now leads a U.S.-funded force that guards against al-Qaida and other insurgent groups. He says he threw his lot in with the Americans after he realized that Iraqi insurgents were being manipulated by Syria and Iran to create chaos in Iraq.

One reason that Mullah Nadhum has become an American ally is that the local American military commander, Lt. Col. Bob McCarthy, has set up a program that allows fighters to turn themselves in and "reconcile" with the Army. McCarthy's 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry unit of the 101st Airborne Division has lost five men in fighting with insurgents since January.

Gradual Process of Reconciliation

McCarthy's intelligence officer, Capt. Christian Wollenburg, says the reconciliation was a gradual process that started with word of mouth among local sheiks after McCarthy's unit and Iraqi army units made serious inroads against the insurgents.

He says that after the first few insurgents turned themselves in and found that they were treated fairly by the Americans, more came in. The unit and the court system in Balad worked out a formal plan for dealing with former militants.

If the insurgents are considered high-value targets and are wanted by the U.S., Wollenburg says they are warned that they will be arrested when they turn themselves in, but they are promised fair treatment.

If Iraqi authorities have warrants for the insurgents, the insurgents are given court dates when their cases will be heard by an investigating judge. Wollenburg says that of more than 500 fighters who have turned themselves in, about 170 have been given court dates.

Stressing that the process is just beginning, Wollenburg says more than two dozen former insurgents have been acquitted by a court in Balad. If the men are not wanted by the U.S. or the Iraqis, they can sign a cease-fire agreement and return to their homes as free men.

Wollenburg says the programs have several advantages for the U.S. military. For one thing, the soldiers are able to get identification for every man who comes in, including photos, fingerprints and retina scans. He says many of these men were never known to the military before.

Another payoff for the military comes in the form of information, an almost overwhelming amount, Wollenburg says some new, and some confirming intelligence that soldiers have received in the past.

Building Trust in American Soldiers

Mullah Shakr al-Azzawi is another Sunni cleric who was part of the insurgency but now leads a local guard group funded by the U.S. Army. He says life for gunmen and their families was miserable because of constant pressure from U.S. and Iraqi forces. "If a woman was about to give birth," he says, "we couldn't even drive her to the hospital. It was too risky."

Mullah Shakr says that even so, he wouldn't have turned himself in if it were not for his trust in American soldiers as fair intermediaries. He acknowledges that he has been charged with two murders and a kidnapping, and he says he is relying on an American officer to go to court with him.

Mullah Nadhum says the main concern now is to assure former insurgents that they will get fair treatment if they turn themselves in. He says there have been allegations that some men who came in were mistreated, not in the local courts at Balad but in the higher Iraqi court at Tikrit.

Mullah Nadhum estimates that there are about 1,800 gunmen in the area around the town of Balad, and he says he believes that most of them will eventually reconcile.

Not everyone believes that the motives of all of the reconciling gunmen are pure, or that their hands are as clean of innocent blood as they say.

But as one Iraqi put it, "For now, everybody's trying to be an angel on Earth."

Link

Iraq

Baghdad Bob aka Comical Ali, is he back?

2008-04-21

In a performance worthy of former Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Al-Sahhaf, also known as "Comical Ali," a spokesman for one of the remaining Sunni insurgency groups in Iraq told Al Jazeera last month that 44,000 U.S. troops had been killed in that country.

That is about 11 times the actual number of U.S. casualties in Iraq, which hit 4,000 near the end of March, according to the Associated Press.

Ibrahim Al-Shammari, spokesman for the Islamic Army of Iraq, told Al Jazeera that the discrepancy between the 4,000 casualties reported by Western news agencies and the 44,000 claimed by his group was caused by the U.S. not counting the deaths of soldiers "who have Green Cards."

"Dr. Al-Shammari, what does it mean to you that 4,000 U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq?" a moderator on Al Jazeera asked Al- Shammari during a March 24 broadcast translated by the BBC.

"This figure means a lot to us because it is the first time the number of U.S. deaths amounts to 4,000. This means a lot to the American people," said Al-Shammari. "The figure we have is 4,000 plus 40,000, and not 4,000 as they claim. This shows the deep trouble the U.S. Administration engaged-"

At this point, according to the BBC translation, the moderator interrupted Al-Shammari. "Excuse me, the figure you have is 44,000?" the moderator asked.

"The Americans do not count those who have Green Cards," explained Al-Shammari. "The Americans do not count those who die in explosions on a daily basis. The Americans do not count deaths among the logistic support teams and other Green Card holders, as I said," he added.

"They only count holders of U.S. nationality. Our people in the Islamic Army had found earlier some of the mass graves for U.S. soldiers in Al-Iskandariyah area, Al-Habbaniyah, and elsewhere; and there are recorded videos of these," he said.

"Do you have an accurate calculation and a clear follow-up on this issue that allows you to announce the figure 44,000?" asked the moderator.

"Yes, we in the military office have precise statistics that are highly professional in calculating the daily losses and casualties of the enemy," said Al-Shammari.

The Islamic Army of Iraq is one of the leading remaining Sunni insurgency groups operating in Iraq. In a Congressional Research Service report on Iraq published in December, analyst Kenneth Katzman noted that there are numerous Sunni insurgents factions that have "no unified leadership."

"Some groups led by ex-Saddam regime leaders, others by Islamic extremists," he wrote. "Major Iraqi factions include Islamic Army of Iraq, New Baath Party, Muhammad's Army, and the 1920 Revolution Brigades."

Link

Iraq

Three execution verdicts against AQI killers of Iraqi MP's son

2007-11-25

An Iraqi court has issued "three" death sentences against each of the two murderers denounced with several civilian killings; among their victims was the two sons of MP Mithal Al-Allusi. Al-Allusi told the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the Central Criminal Court "had sentenced each of the two killers of my sons Ayman and Gamal to death three times each." Jurist Tareq Harb, speaking for the victims at court, said the Central Court had sentenced the so-called Jafaar and Ali Mohammad Hafez from the Islamic Army of Iraq group to death three times each, for killing Al-Allusi's sons and a companion. Ten perpetrators remain at large.

Meanwhile, a judiciary source said among the fugitives were Munqiz Adnan Al-Dulaimi, son of MP Adnan Al-Dulaimi, and Minister of Culture Asaad Al-Hashemi. Al-Allusi urged Al-Hashemi to hand himself in to the police, saying Al-Hashemi was not sentenced in absentia.

Ayman and Gamal Al-Allusi, 22 and 30, and their companion, Haider Habib Habib Hussein, were killed in an attack near their house in Baghdad on February 8, 2005.

"This time the Iraqi court did not issue an in absentia sentence against the fugitive minister ... the verdicts were based on clear charges, but the minister escaped among others involved in the crime," Al-Allusi said. He noted that some witnesses had been assassinated so as not to testify in court.

Harb said that during the trial, the killers owned up to committing more than 10 terrorist attacks and "physical liquidation" since February, 2005.

Link

Iraq

Iraq insurgent groups form one council

2007-10-12

The groups forming the council include the Islamic Army of Iraq, the Mujahideen Army, Ansar al-Sunna, the Fatiheen Army, the Islamic Front for the Iraqi Resistance (Jami) and the Islamic Movement of Hamas-Iraq.

Six main Iraqi insurgent groups announced the formation of a "political council" aimed at "liberating" Iraq from U.S. occupation in a video aired Thursday on Al-Jazeera television.

The council appeared to be a new attempt to assert the leadership of the groups, which have moved to distance themselves from another coalition of insurgent factions led by al-Qaida in Iraq.

In the video aired on Al-Jazeera, a man identified as the council's spokesman wearing traditional Iraqi garb, with his face blacked out announced the council's formation and a "political program to liberate Iraq." He said the program was based on two principles.

"First, the occupation is an oppression and aggression, rejected by Islamic Sharia law and tradition. Resistance of occupation is a right guaranteed by all religions and laws," he said. "Second, the armed Resistance ... is the Legitimate representative of Iraq. It is the one that bears responsibility for the leadership of the people to achieve its legitimate hope."

The groups forming the council include the Islamic Army of Iraq, the Mujahideen Army, Ansar al-Sunna, the Fatiheen Army, the Islamic Front for the Iraqi Resistance (Jami) and the Islamic Movement of Hamas-Iraq.

The step could be a bid by the insurgents for a more cohesive political voice at a time of considerable rearrangement among Sunni insurgent groups and Iraq's Sunni Arab minority. Splinter factions of two insurgent groups, the 1920 Revolution Brigades and the Mujahideen Army, have cooperated with U.S. forces in fighting insurgents allied to al-Qaida in Iraq.

Earlier this year, other groups the Islamic Army of Iraq, the main faction of the Mujahideen Army, a branch of Ansar al-Sunna and the Fatiheen Army formed a coalition called the Jihad and Reform Front opposed to al-Qaida in Iraq, though they have continued attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces.

Link

Iraq

Defeat Made in Washington

2007-09-17

Amir Taheri

While some US politicians claim that the war is lost, a broader analysis of the existential struggle between two visions of the world may provide a different picture.

The trick that the party of defeat uses is simple: reduce the larger struggle to the war in Iraq, then further reduce it to the success or failure of the so-called "surge"; then proceed to show that, despite the presence of 22,000 additional US troops, the terrorists still manage suicide attacks. The conclusion: the war is lost; let's run away as fast as we can!

However, the "surge" as such is not the issue.

There is no doubt that the arrival of additional US troops has helped improve security in parts of Iraq.

Nevertheless, whatever success the "surge" might have had is due to the psychological impact of the decision by President George W Bush to increase the number of US troops rather than cut and run.

The real issue in Iraq, as in all other theatres of the global war against terrorists, has always been one of commitment and resolve, especially on the part of those who have the power to make a difference.

Rather than enter into a debate about the actual number of suicide bombings, let us note some positive developments that no one can deny:

* The Sunni Arab tribal sheikhs in the once unruly Anbar province have decided to come off the fence and take up arms against Al Qaeda, even if this means collaborating with the Americans.

* The principal Arab Sunni armed groups, including the 1920 Brigade, and the Islamic Army of Iraq have switched side by agreeing to work with the Iraqi government against foreign terrorists.

* On the Shiite side, Muqtada Al Sadr has ordered his Mahdi Army to lay down arms for the next six months. Sadr took the decision after dozens of his commanders, former members of Saddam Hussein's Republican Guards, decided to switch to the government side.

* Another Iranian controlled Shi'ite group, known as the Thar Allah (God's Revenge), has also suffered major setbacks with dozens dead and scores captured by the new Iraqi army.

* The British withdrawal from Basra did not lead into a take over by Iran's agents, although both Sadr and Thar Allah did test the waters. Instead, the Iraqi army and police, with support from nationalist Shi'ite groups such as Fadila (Virtue) and the Islamic Council of Iraq, control Iraq's second largest city. The Basra Bloodbath, predicted by some pundits, has not materialised.

* The various political blocs, both Sunni and Shiite that had withdrawn from the Iraqi parliament during its long summer recess, have ended their boycott.

* Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's coalition government has won a new mandate with the reaffirmation of support by three blocs of parties that account for 85 per cent of the seats in the parliament.

* As the parliament prepares for a new session, a full legislative programme tackling key issues such as sharing oil revenues, municipal elections, and federalism, is unveiled.

* Most Arab states have ended their boycott of new Iraq and dispatched diplomatic missions to Baghdad to open embassies. France has also ended its boycott and sent Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner to Baghdad with a message of support.

* The United Nations, hoping to raise its profile, is also expected to appoint a new high representative to Baghdad to revive its frozen programmes.

* Anyone visiting Iraq now could take a stroll in the neighbourhoods "re-claimed" from the terrorists, including in places such as Basra where there are no US troops. A trickle of displaced persons is beginning to return to areas that had become wastelands because of gang wars among sectarian groups.

* Religious leaders of Arab Sunni and Shiite communities attending a "National Reconciliation Conference" in Redwaniyah, have denounced sectarianism and pledged support for new Iraq.

* Al Qaeda has had to postpone its promise of formally announcing the creation of the so-called Islamic Emirate of Iraq on three occasions. Last October, Al Qaeda promised it would issue a new currency for its putative "Islamic emirate" and name a "Governing Council". However, those fantasies, however, had to be shelved as Al Qaeda lost its safe havens in a few places in Anbar, Diyala and Salahuddin provinces.

* Judging by the buzz in pro-terror sites in the cyberspace, Al Qaeda is facing recruitment problems for the war in Iraq. One Al Qaeda guru, using the nom de guerre of Sheikh Bassir al-Najdi, recently warned that the organization was unable to replace "lost martyrs" in Iraq. No one knows how many terrorists have been killed in the past six months. However, the buzz in pro-terrorist circles is that a whole generation of Jihadists has been wiped out. The funeral industry in those Arab countries where the Jihadists originate is booming.

* More importantly, perhaps, the number of defectors from Al Qaeda is rising. In Saudi Arabia alone, numbers of former Jihadists in Iraq have surrendered to the authorities and joined a rehabilitation program. Some have appeared on television to repent their criminal deeds in Iraq and urge on the "faithful" to fight Al Qaeda.

* Inside Iraq, Al Qaeda has not been able to replace at least five key commanders killed or captured in the past six months.

What is certain is that the political tide is turning in favour of new Iraq.

As in any war, what counts in this war is the protagonists' states of mind. No war is won with a defeatist discourse.

The "surge" was a political signal that the US did not intend to throw in the towel. That signal persuaded fence sitters in Iraq and, beyond it, the broader Arab world, to take side. Most chose the side of new Iraq against its internal and external foes.

The US and its Iraqi allies cannot be defeated in Iraq. However, defeat could be manufactured in Washington where part of the American elite seeks it in order to win in the domestic political war.

Each time an American political leader speaks of defeat, he encourages the terrorists, discourages allies, signals to fence sitters to look elsewhere, and thus prolongs the war.

It is not twenty-two thousands more or fewer American troops that would determine the outcome of the war in a country the size of France. What could persuade the terrorists and the sectarian gangs that their cause is lost is the perception that behind those 22,000 troops stands a nation, a "superpower" at that, determined not to surrender to terror. A United America can win with even fewer troops, acting as symbols of US commitment. A divided America will lose even if it doubled the number of its troops.

To win in Iraq, the Americans need to end their own partisan war on this issue.

Link

Iraq

Iraq: Islamic schism creates new militant group

2007-07-20

(AKI)- A schism among Islamic militants has led to the creation of a new organisation in Iraq called the Furquan Army. According to the Arab television network, al-Jazeera, the new militant group was born after divisions recently emerged within the Islamic Army of Iraq.

Splitters!

The Islamic Army is a Muslim fundamentalist organisation allegedly linked to al-Qaeda. It was responsible for the execution Italian journalist, Enzo Baldoni, who was kidnapped near Najaf in 2004.

In a message distributed on Islamic internet sites, the new organisation accuses the directors of the Islamic Army of "having put aside Jihadist activities preferring to negotiate with Baghdad in order to participate in the political life of the country." The divisions did not stop the leaders of the Islamic Army from launching an intense armed conflict in recent months ended by the mediation of representatives from Ansar al-Sunna.

Link

Iraq

Red on Red

2007-05-14

Newly formed insurgent group accuses al-Qaida of killing 12 of its senior members

CAIRO, Egypt: A newly formed Islamic militant group accused al-Qaida of killing 12 of its senior members in Baghdad's Dora neighborhood in a statement posted Monday on its Web site. The ~~Peoples Front of Judaea~~ Jihad and Reform Front described Saturday's killings as a "catastrophe that befell on us" and urged ~~the Judaean Peoples Front~~ al-Qaida to hand over the culprits to be tried by its Islamic court, the posting said.

The group was formed by merging the ~~Popular Front for the Liberation of Judaea~~ Islamic Army in Iraq, the ~~Judaean Popular Front~~ Mujahideen Army and some senior leaders from the ~~Popular Movement for the Liberation of Judaea~~ Sharia Commission of Ansar al-Sunnah, according to the Front's founding notice, posted two weeks ago. But leaflets recently plastered on walls in the western city of Fallujah said the ~~Most Popular Front for the Liberation of Judaea, Really, and Don't You Believe those Other Heretics~~ 1920 Revolution Brigades had joined the Front as well.

"Twelve of our mujahideen, mostly field commanders from the ~~Judaean Popular Front~~ Mujahideen Army, were killed in a perfidious ambush set up by some of our past comrades whom we did not expect to betray us in such a cruel and barbaric way," the Front said in Monday's statement. According to the group, its emergence angered "those who work in darkness and who try to bury the newborn (Front) using the most savage means of hostilities and betrayal."

"We consider the al-Qaida organization fully responsible for this heinous crime and call upon them to adopt the true religious stand by handing over ... the criminal killers to the religious court of the Jihad and Reform Front," the statement said.

In its founding notice, the Front implied it was against al-Qaida extremist ideology and indiscriminate attacks on Shiite Muslims or other civilians. "The mujahideen's (Front's) military actions target the occupier and the agents and not innocent civilians . . . to endeavor to gain the confidence of the Muslims in general," it said.

Isn't that special.

The formation of the new group indicates the deepening rift between al-Qaida and Sunni guerrilla groups and tribes, especially in the Anbar area. These Sunnis are turning against al-Qaida because of its sheer brutality and austere religious extremism. Some militants have been negotiating with the government to join the political process.

The ~~Popular Front for the Liberation of Judaea~~ Islamic Army of Iraq, which has said it opposes al-Qaida's claim to establishing the Islamic state, accused al-Qaida last month of killing 30 of its members. The ~~Most Popular Front for the Liberation of Judaea, Really~~ 1920 Revolution Brigades accused al-Qaida in March of assassinating one of its leaders, ~~Reg~~ Harith Dhaher al-Dhari.

The rift prompted Omar al-Baghdadi, the head of al-Qaida's umbrella group, ~~Amalgamated Fronts for the Popular Liberation of Judaea~~ the Islamic State of Iraq, to appeal to all militants in an audiotape last month to ~~please don't kill me~~ stop spilling each others' blood and unite against the Americans and the government.

Link

Iraq

Was al Masri betrayed by his own people?

2007-05-01

Richard Miniter, Pajamas Media

American military investigators are racing north from Baghdad to Nihabi, a small village near Taji, to look for the body of Abu Ayuub al Masri, the fearsome leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, a senior American intelligence official told Pajamas Media.

Al Masri had just been reported dead hours earlier, following a firefight with a band of Sunni irregulars. Those irregulars are a story of their own, as will be revealed below. . . .

If he is dead, who killed him? Here media reporting appears confused, . . . . Most likely, our sources tell us, al Masri was felled by former insurgents who have come over to the American side. Those would be the Albu Issa, which have been subjected to an incredibly brutal campaign by AQI that has included the use of chlorine bombs in Amariyah, one official said. The Albu Issa tribe is allied with the Coalition are part of Sheikh Abdul Sattars Anbar Salvation Front, which unites 26 out of the 31 Anbar province tribes against al Qaeda.

The US is working with a number of former insurgent groups including 1920 Revolution Brigade to fight AQI in Anbar, the source adds. Bill Roggio has reported in the past that many of the Anbar Salvation Front members are former 1920 Revolution Brigade or Islamic Army of Iraq fighters who have now joined the Coalition to fight AQI as part of Sheikh Abdul Sattars amnesty program.

Nicely done.

Link

Iraq

Sunnis try to blast Al-Qaeda out of Iraq

2007-04-01

Sunni insurgent groups that were previously allied with Al-Qaeda in Iraq have turned against it, killing its leaders, attacking its supporters and vowing to drive it out of the country. At least two Al-Qaeda commanders have been killed by Iraqi insurgents in Baghdad. Others have been forced to flee after insurgents passed their details to US and Iraqi commanders. Fierce fighting has broken out between insurgent groups and Al-Qaeda in Anbar province, west of Baghdad.

Until the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, in a US airstrike last summer, the groups cooperated with it in their bloody struggle with the coalition forces. But the insurgents have come to believe that Al-Qaeda in Iraq is destabilising the country by the indiscriminate slaughter of civilians, often with truck bombs. Some senior Sunni insurgents believe that Al-Qaeda in Iraq shares the agenda of Iranian-backed Shiite militias to plunge the country into ever more violent sectarian conflict rather than concentrating on the fight against the US-led coalition.

Late last year Salam al-Zubaie, Iraqs deputy prime minister, began secret talks with the Sunni groups with the aim of coaxing them away from Al-Qaeda. He held meetings with commanders of groups including the 20th Revolutionary Brigade, the general command of the Iraqi armed forces, the Islamic Army of Iraq, the Baath party and the Salah al-Deen al-Ayyubi Brigade. He encouraged them to form a unified Sunni alliance that could fight Al-Qaeda and attack Iranian influence. They proved receptive to his arguments. Both Al-Qaeda and Iran seem to have an identical agenda to try to widen the sectarian split between Sunnis and Shiites, maintaining instability, Abu Baker, a commander in the 20th Revolutionary Brigade, told The Sunday Times last week. They stepped up their attacks on innocent Iraqi people and we could not accept that.

A senior commander in the Islamic Army said Zubaie had promised not only to help to unify the Sunni groups but also to provide them with financial and logistical support to stop Iranian infiltration. The insurgents demanded assurances from the government that they would not be arrested or attacked by the security forces. They also asked for promises that they could eventually join the security forces.

There was one sticking point. We insisted that our fight with the occupying forces would continue as they are to blame for our current situation, the Islamic Army commander claimed. Zubaies response was that first we had to get rid of Al-Qaeda and turn ourselves into a strong legal force to be reckoned with. Then wed be in a position to negotiate with the occupying forces and demand their withdrawal. This was something we could not accept.

Within weeks, however, the insurgent groups set out to cleanse parts of Baghdad of Al-Qaeda influence. Shaker Zuwaini, an Al-Qaeda emir, was assassinated by the 20th Revolutionary Brigade in the Adel district of Baghdad. The emir of the Amiriya district was also killed and another commander was chased away from the Khadra district. Abu Omar, leader of a Baath insurgent group and military commander in Amouriya, said: Al-Qaeda have turned into a bunch of criminals and gangsters up to their eyes in kidnapping and robberies. We resolved to put an end to them.

The drive against Al-Qaeda has continued despite an attempt to assassinate Zubaie last month. He was seriously injured by a suicide bomb. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility. Zalmay Khalilzad, the outgoing US ambassador, said the United States had also held talks with Sunni insurgents to explore ways to collaborate in fighting the terrorists. Al-Qaeda in Iraq, which has carried out many of the most brutal attacks on civilians, is made up largely of foreign fighters. Although it shares a name with Osama Bin Ladens group, it is unclear how closely the two are linked.

General David Petraeus, the US commander, blamed Al-Qaeda for provoking carnage in Tal Afar, in northwestern Iraq, with a truck bomb that killed 152. Shiite militants and police then cold-bloodedly executed as many as 70 Sunnis.

Link

Iraq

Khalilzad acknowledges meetings with Iraq insurgents

2007-03-27

Outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad said he had held talks last year with representatives of major Sunni insurgent groups in a drive to bring them into politics, the New York Times reported Monday. "There were discussions with the representatives of various groups in the aftermath of the elections, and during the formation of the government before the Samarra incident, and some discussions afterwards as well," Khalilzad was quoted as saying.

Khalilzad was the first American official to publicly acknowledge such talks, the report said. A powerful explosion blew off the golden dome of a mosque in Samarra, one of the holiest Shiite shrines in Iraq on Feb. 22, 2006, further intensifying sectarian strife in the country. The meetings began in early 2006 and were possibly the first attempts at sustained contact between senior American officials and the Sunni Arab insurgency, according to the report.

Khalilzad flew to Jordan for some of the talks, including those with the self-identified representatives of the Islamic Army of Iraq and the 1920 Revolution Brigades, two leading nationalist factions. Khalilzad's willingness to approach Iraqi rebel groups seemed at odds with the public position of some Bush administration officials that the United States does not negotiate with insurgents. It was not clear whether he had to seek permission from Washington before engaging in such talks, the report said.

Link

Home Front: Culture Wars

A Good Place to Stay: Hotel Chain Drops CNN

2006-11-20

A Midwest hotel chain with several properties in Illinois has pulled CNN and CNN Headline News from its guest rooms and lobbies in response to the cable network's broadcast of an insurgent video showing Iraqi snipers shooting at U.S. troops.
Good ... but I never watch those crappy channels anyways
The Oct. 18 CNN broadcast, which featured edited portions of a tape the network said it obtained from the Islamic Army of Iraq rebel group, crossed the line from journalism to propaganda, said James Thompson, president of the Iowa-based Stoney Creek Hospitality Corp. "It was shocking and repulsive," he said. "Their actions supported terrorism."

Guests at the Stoney Creek Inn's 10 properties in Illinois, Missouri, Iowa and Wisconsin can still view Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC and other cable news channels, Thompson noted. Supportive comments from guests have outnumbered complaints by a 3-1 margin, he said.

In Illinois, the Stoney Creek Inns are located in Galena, East Peoria, Moline and Quincy. It also has locations in Columbia and St. Joseph, Mo.; Des Moines and Waukon, Iowa; and La Crosse and Wausau, Wis.
So if you're travelling that way...
A network spokeswoman did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment Thursday. A CNN producer previously defended the report as an attempt to show the "unvarnished truth" about the Iraq war. ... In a CNN Web log entry defending the segment, producer David Doss wrote that the network excluded the "actual impact of the rounds" because "a number of us felt airing that precise moment was simply too horrific."
How thoughful! A$$holes!

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