Posted on 06/07/2006 11:44:51 PM PDT by westnews
South of Birmingham. It's LAAAATE.
But it's worth it. :D
ABSOLUTELY! damn straight!
The "Salhiya mass abduction.
Perhaps one of the most shocking security incidents that took the headlines inside and outside Iraq was the one when gunmen dressed in military uniforms riding police-like vehicles seized 50 men in Salhiya district in central western Baghdad a couple of days ago.
The common first reaction after reading the news reports was one of astonishment by the exceptionally challenging nature of this operation as the operation took place in the center of the capital in a supposedly well guarded area and in broad day light but as we dig deeper into the circumstances of the incident, it looks like this case can be more complex than we thought it was in the beginning.
I had a long conversation with some of my friends on this particular case and tried to analyze some of its sides using the little knowledge and analysis skill we have.
What we found basically suggests that the raid could've possibly been conducted by government forces and not terrorists, yet not by the regular government forces. In other words he suggests that a security corps not related to the defense or interior ministries was possibly behind the raid in an attempt form the government (or some other entity) to find "shortcuts" for eliminating terror cells in Baghdad without having to go through courts and time-consuming police investigations and paperwork.
The nature of the target and the scene and timing of the operation supports this theory in a way; most drivers and workers in travel agencies are from areas through which the road to Jordan and Syria passes through, i.e. they belong to Arab Sunni tribes and have secured some sort of a treaty with influential powers in that region and they use this advantage to pass back and forth safely through this dangerous long highway. These drivers are the only ones capable of doing this right now after many Shia drivers were killed on the road by al-Qaeda or local insurgent groups. Moreover, there were 2 Syrian nationals among those 50 men.
This leads to conclusion #1: Those kidnapped/arrested probably had ties with local insurgents and/or al-Qaeda in Iraq, especially in the western region of the country.
The idea that it's a death squad operation is unlikely for one reason; the location and time at which the operation took place indicate that the raiders were confident and fearless, and the scale of the operation and the magnitude of the raiding force indicates that high ranking officers know about it and if these officers are corrupt and running death squads they will be expected to not mess with the other wing of the insurgency (I'm talking about operations organized at commanders level who receive direct or indirect orders from Syria or Iran). I realize that many people still find it hard to believe that Syria-backed al-Qaeda and Sunni extremists are working side by side with Iran-backed death squads. And whether the trigger pullers know this or not isn't of value here but I'm positive that commanders on both sides know who their allies are.
This leads to conclusion #2: If Iran is behind death squads in Iraq (which is what most of us believe to be the case) then Iran and death squads were not behind this one and it wasn't an operation motivated by sectarian tensions.
In short, it is quite possible that this operation was conducted by an independent security corps taking orders directly from the president, PM or US military to strike a particular target quickly and without the hassle of traditional justice…a legitimate force, maybe a special counter-terrorism force or one belonging to the Iraqi intelligence/military intelligence service but performing operations in a dirty (yet effective) way, capturing suspects, forcefully interrogating them and executing those found guilty and releasing those found innocent.
The fact that 13 of the 50 were released last night and found by the police in Baghdad supports this theory to some extent. Those 13 men were found alive but had torture marks on their bodies.
A death squad or a terror cell wouldn't have spared any."
THE LORD REIGNS!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, Hell just got another new permanent resident. I hope he's enjoying his 70 virgins.
And, most of all, congratulations to our United States Special Forces for the outstanding work they do and the sacrifices they make in the fight for freedom.
God bless every one of them and their loved ones.
Notice how many of the 'reporters' (and DUmmies) are saying that this is meaningless, and that it is probably only going to make things worse.
Even the FOXies seem to want to think of this as either unimportant or even a BAD thing to have finally happened.
Of course 3/4th of the DUmmies think that Zarqawi is merely a Rovian - Rumsfeldian creation in the first place; someone who never existed.
I'm about ready to hit the bed, but am going to archive the MSNBC an FOX feeds up to now and save the DUmmies comments upmto now for future reference.
"I for one can't wait to get my Zarqawi/Che t-shirt.
This man was nothing more than a freedom fighter, comparable to the 'terrorists' that founded America by betraying England once upon a time and resorted to similar guerrila tactics. This just makes me sick the way everyone is celebrating the death of this man who at least fought for the freedom of his people to choose their own form of government.
Not only is he an idiot communist worshiper, he is completely ignorant... Zarqawi isn't even an Iraqi.
Do you hear this now on FOX?
Zaraqawi was a HALF-WIT !!! A figure head !
What the hell ???
I'm guessing that Zarqawi and his seven buddies are now the virgins.
good one Phil! :)
ROFLMAO!
Who said that?
I don't know. Some know-it-all being interviewed on the satellite phone. He said Zarqawi was "widely regarded" in his home town as a half-wit. I swear that's what he said, unless it was something else that sounds just like "half-wit".
They made fun of his handling of guns too. He said the Jordanians called him a half wit by people who knew him
Greg Palcott in Iraq
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