Coalition battling Fedayeen and "MYSTERY" forces

Bob Arnot, MSNBC

[GLDNGUN]

Bob Arnot, currently reporting live on MSNBC says Coalition forces at his location are battling the Fedayeen and a group he said he WAS NOT ALLOWED TO IDENTIFY. Al Qaeda? Any other guesses? He did indicate that these are highly skilled fighters, especially in regards to sniping.

[Ronin]

Well, the only thing we can be for certain is that the "Mystery Force" is not the lost patrol of the French Foreign Legion.

They would have surrendered by now.

[Quix]

BEST GUESSES IN rough ORDER:

1) Russian
2) French
3) Pakistan/Al Qaeda
4) Syrian
5) Chinese
6) Lybian
7) Cuban
8) Iranian

[rolling_stone]

9. Democrats...

[11B3]

RUSSIAN SPETZNATZ. Any bets?

[Quix]

Forgot them.

Nahhhhhhh

They can't shoot straight--especially a gun.

All they can do is spit and whine and fart out the top very hot, stinky, useless, oxygen-less 'air.'

But they can sure undermine the Republic going and coming.

[RLK]

Yup...

[Registered]

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[Iwentsouth]

Palesitians.

[dep]

syrians, saudis, or iranians. probably not syrians, in that we would happily announce that they are shooting at us.

dep

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

They're referencing the young "Brownshirts" Saddam has brainwashed into young terrorists.

Al Qaeda Rouge by John LeBoutillier

Excerpt:

But this 'recruiting and training technique' was not unique to Pol Pot. In Romania, Nicolai Ceauscescu ran what was seen by President Nixon as a 'moderate communist' regime. In fact, this bastard tuned out to be yet another of history's worst killers and torturers. After his well-deserved execution on Christmas Day 1989, the truth began to emerge. Orphaned boys had been recruited from orphanages and turned into members of a Secret Police force totally loyal to the dictator and his family - and no one else.

This force of thugs performed hideous acts of killing, torture and sadism throughout Romania. Torture chambers were even found in the president's basement!

During the Gulf War it was learned that Saddam Hussein has created a unique 'force' with total loyalty to him. Serving as bodyguards and 'special agents', this is a team of men - guess what? - recruited from orphaned boys at young ages and trained to have absolute loyalty to one and only one 'father' - Saddam Hussein.

These Saddam-fanatics carry out the brutal subjugation of the Iraqi people. Killings, torture, rape - indiscriminate killings - are all part of the plan.

If you carefully read enough about Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda organization, you will read that they regularly visited Afghan orphanages in Kabul and 'recruited' 10-year-old boys. These new 'recruits' were blindfolded and taken off to training camps up in the Afghan mountains and caves. There they were 'indoctrinated' - we would call it brainwashed - to "Hate America" - even though these boys had never even heard of it!

Through the course of months of harsh training, the boys were turned into killing machines or - to use the term of the day - terrorists.

Torture techniques were practiced, killing methods taught - and, all the while, the brains and souls of these 'recruits' were carefully and methodically 'turned' into fanatical killing machines who, under certain circumstances, were even willing to die for a cause they did not understand.

Pol Pot, Nicolai Ceauscescu, Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden all have used the same handbook on training sociopathic killers. And all have used these robotic minions to cause unspeakable misery to their people - and to others.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

What group is Arnot with?

OFFICIAL BUMP(TOPIC)LIST

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

The deal is that Bush & Co. do not want to be known as killing "soldiers" ages 14 and under. Hence the cryptic reference here.

[mvonfr]

9) PLO, possibly CIA-trained "security forces"

[Hugin]

He mentioned they have seen Syrian, Saudi, Jordanian and Sudanese "volunteers" as well.

He also stopped a marine who was running in the middle of the battle to interview, which really ticked me off.

[Shermy]

1. Mujahadeen al-Khalq (anti-Iranian govt. group).

2. Palestinian Liberation Front or other pallie group.

3. Some agglomeration of jihadis.

[John H K]

COBRA? Decepticons? Sioux warriors?

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

1st U.S. Marine Expeditionary Force

http://www.msnbc.com/news/893329.asp#Arnot

[Restorer]

Well, the only thing we can be for certain is that the "Mystery Force" is not the lost patrol of the French Foreign Legion.

They would have surrendered by now.

Don't know much about the history of the Foreign Legion, do we?

Run a search on "Camerone."

[Quix]

You are probably more right.

Though I'm not sure how many of them are great shots.

[Steve Van Doorn]

"RUSSIAN SPETZNATZ"

I hope not those guys are bad ass and I doubt it. Russia has there own problems.

[GLDNGUN]

I am inclined to agree with your #1 guess. Bob later mentioned the Middle Eastern types from other countries that had been captured recently, so I think we can rule those out. I also don't know why he would not be allowed to identify al Qaeda fighters. Why keep that a secret? There was a report I recall prior to the war that said the Iraqi embassy was being beseiged by Russians looking for travel visas to fight the Coalition. Russian would fit the bill of highly skilled fighters, including snipers. Then we had the incident yesterday with the Russian officials trying to get out of Baghdad and took fire. Perhaps these "officials" were actually military types that received fire from the Coalition as a warning. I'm sure we could have toasted them if we had wanted to.

[GLDNGUN]

I am inclined to agree with your #1 guess. Bob later mentioned the Middle Eastern types from other countries that had been captured recently, so I think we can rule those out. I also don't know why he would not be allowed to identify al Qaeda fighters. Why keep that a secret? There was a report I recall prior to the war that said the Iraqi embassy was being beseiged by Russians looking for travel visas to fight the Coalition. Russian would fit the bill of highly skilled fighters, including snipers. Then we had the incident yesterday with the Russian officials trying to get out of Baghdad and took fire. Perhaps these "officials" were actually military types that received fire from the Coalition as a warning. I'm sure we could have toasted them if we had wanted to.

[Quix]

You probably have a very good point there.

Though, again, not sure how many are how great a marksmen.

Some Chinese should be/could be.

Not sure about the PLO.

[xm177e2]

I've heard Palestinians and Jordanians were in Baghdad. It would make sense that he couldn't announce this because Jordan is basically an ally of ours.

[Hazzardgate]

That would be my guess.

[xm177e2]

If the Russians were trying to destroy records from the Saddam regime, they just might have sent in special forces (who were then surprised by the rapid American advance and didn't get out in time)... but I doubt it.

[Quix]

Good points.

It would certainly be the Russian sort of thing to do.

[GLDNGUN]

Brownshirts is another good guess, although I have a MAJOR problem with LeBout, but that's another story...

[HiTech RedNeck]

Palestinian Liberation Front or other pallie group.

That would certainly be a political hot button.

[rightisright]

I'll guess...Romulans? :-)

[RLK]

What would happen if we were told who these mystery forces were?

[cynwoody]

RUSSIAN SPETZNATZ. Any bets?

I thought those guys were busy coping with their own raghead problem in Chechnya.

[Shermy]

I'm trying to find the article. But remember the first bombing? Didn't get Hussein, but, surprisingly enough, it did get a leader of the PLF, Abu Abbas' group. Steyn remarked on it, so did others, but the info just passed by the wayside...

Mujahadeen al-Khalq is an Marxist-Islamic Iranian opposition group sponsored by Hussein - not just guerillas, but with regular army-type formations. Wonder where they are...

[John H K]

Well, the secret of the French Foreign Legion is that they aren't "Foreign" because they're sent overseas, they're "Foreign" because they're not French. At least not supposed to be (Some French do sneak in.) I believe they're mostly British, actually.

[truth_seeker]

"The deal is that Bush & Co. do not want to be known as killing "soldiers" ages 14 and under. Hence the cryptic reference here."

I think you have identified the situation. These young people have been mentioned in print media, recently. Fanatical, brainwashed...which is a sad fact, in a ruthless, bloody dictatorial authoritarian regime.

Hence the political/humanitarian sensitivity. Better to just get the killing done, with no "publicity."

The sooner all the killing gets done, the sooner the killing will be over. Or nearly over.

The political, media control, humanitarian issues have been dealt with about as masterfully, as the raw military aspects. IMO

[Travis McGee]

Palestineans.

[Shermy]

Just read by yahoo search that some, at least, of the Mujahedeen al-Khalq are up in Kirkuk.

[cynwoody]

Palestineans.

Good guess. That would explain both why it's important not to take prisoners and why their origin is a sensitive matter. And why Syria should be next.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

The story I mentioned above was written on Thursday Oct. 4, 2001 - less than a month after the World Trade Center went down.

[HiTech RedNeck]

They were reported as being good snipers. With what, Daisy BB guns?

[JustPiper]

They have Bob on a 5 second delay because he uis so 'aggressive' ;) They don't want to see him shot on live TV.

Then where the chemical drums were found. It's reported it had a nearly 5 point rating, which means not just a tidbit or trace, it is alot! The drums above ground (pesticides) tested negative. What I find most fascinating is that there are flies and bees buzzing around those underground drums and they seem fine.

[JustPiper]

Bob Arnot is MSNBC’s Special Foreign Correspondent

I guess ole' Bob got a promotion recently because he is now being billed as Chief Correspondent ;)

[JustPiper]

At the terror camps down the road from where the chem drums were found there were Palestian flags next to the Iraqi flags.

[Woahhs]

Travis, do you remember the circumstances and time period where we had troops on the ground and the russians dropped paratroopers on the local airport, daring us to take it away from them? I'm drawing a total blank on the details, but remember the incident.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

These "kiddie terrorists" trained by Saddam or his sons are indeed snipers and good ones at that. That's why the Pentagon/CentCom are worried about dealing with them.

[MattAMiller]

Sounds like a good guess to me. These Ba'athists are truly evil.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Saddam's Child Soldiers

Saddam's Lion Cubs are an organization of boys, forced by the Iraqi government to learn the arts of war. Now, coalition soldiers may face the nightmare of confronting armed children.

We see them as children.
But Saddam Hussein sees them as soldiers.
By the time some of the boys are 10-years-old their childhood will be over.

"There is nothing to which he will not stoop," says Jim Bond, a former Army JAG Captain Jim Bond says he is appalled that Iraqi boys have been trained to kill since the end of the Gulf War.

They're called Saddam's Lion Cubs.

The children are trained in infantry tactics, ambush techniques and terrorist operations.

A series of photos from Iraqi News.Com shows children forced to brutalize chickens to desensitize them to violence and death.

Experts say there may be as many as 8,000 Iraqi child soldiers waiting for U.S. troops.

"One's instinct is not to shoot, I mean you don't kill children." That's the psychological dilemma U.S. soldiers may encounter says Seattle University law professor Jim Bond and co-author of the new Military Code of Conduct. "When you are a soldier and someone has a weapon on you, you can't discuss the matter, you can't think of what your options are," says Bond.

It's kill or be killed. Bond says that's a win-win situation for Saddam Hussein."If the kid succeeds in killing the soldier. Great. If the soldier kills the child in self-defense than he has propaganda to spread all over the Arab world."

Children have gone to war before. The Hitler Youth brigades fought for 6 years during WWII. American troops reported capturing boys as young as 8 years old.

A report, entitled, "Facing Saddam's Child Soldiers was published by the Brookings Institute - a public policy think tank. It says American soldiers must prepare to face Iraqi child soldiers. The report's author, Peter Singer, told KOMO 4 News if Saddam Hussein deploys children the most likely scenario is when allied forces reach Baghdad.

Singer says their specialty is urban warfare.

Saddam's Lion Cubs are a feeder unit to the fedayeen - an Iraqi para-military force - fanatically loyal to him, and known as Saddam's men of sacrifice.

A U.S. military spokesperson says U.S. troops are prepared for child combatants - but stresses the best scenario if possible is to disarm them, secure them, and remember--they are victims of Saddam.

[Shermy]

At the terror camps down the road from where the chem drums were found there were Palestian flags next to the Iraqi flags.

They're all over the place. Like this one at a base in the south:

A U.S. Marine from the 15th Expeditionary Unit walks past a building at a Iraqi
military base in the desert near the southern Iraqi city of Nasiriyah Tuesday,
April 1, 2003. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Saddam's kid army trained to play dirty - Thursday, April 3rd, 2003

American troops threatened by chemical weapons and suicide bombings face another danger when they reach Baghdad - Saddam Hussein's army of children.

Well-trained, ferocious and 8,000-strong, the Ashbal Saddam - Saddam's Lion Cubs, - are waiting in the capital for U.S. forces to arrive, said Peter Singer, a fellow with Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

The Cubs are a junior Fedayeen Saddam - the militia directed by the Iraqi dictator's oldest son, Uday - whose fake surrenders and ruthless tactics in southern Iraq surprised U.S. war planners.

"Whatever the Fedayeen has been willing to do, you can extrapolate that these children will do the same," said Singer, author of the forthcoming book "Caution: Children at War."

After the 1991 Persian Gulf War, Saddam's security police began forcing boys as young as 6 from their families and into intensive boot camps. There, they are beaten, forced to kill animals and indoctrinated with Baath Party propaganda.

They emerge about age 10 schooled in the use of small arms and basic infantry tactics, clad in black trousers and shirts bearing the inscription "Ashbal Saddam," said the Paris-based International Federation of Human Rights.

U.S. soldiers have battled children before, in Vietnam, Somalia and Afghanistan, where the first American killed in action died from shots fired by a 14-year-old boy.

But experts said U.S. forces can expect more organized and dogged resistance from the Cubs, similar to the Hitler Youth in the waning days of World War II.

"Ambushes, sniping, hit-and-run tactics are the most likely things we'll see," Singer said.