Flame — HabitableZone

Flame » in reply to But are you aware of who al Qaida is?

re: But are you aware of who al Qaida is?
TB — (archived)

If I thought it was worth the effort, I could post detailed accounts of things going on in Iraq, including the range of players, what actions were taken by which factions (Sunni insurgents, militias, al Qaeda, other foreign fighters). The numbers you are referring to are years old.

Frankly, you don't care. The news reports a bombing, and that's pretty much all the news people care to know. Why should I bust my butt to put real analysis on top of it?

The Democrats in Washington don't care either. They don't want briefings on details from generals on the ground. They have their agenda, why screw it up with complicated facts?

The war shifted radically a while back from terror and insurgent attacks to sectarian violence. In recent times, it has shifted back. Almost all the major attacks making the news now are attacks by al Qaeda and others of that ilk on Iraqis who are trying to make the government work. For the time being, the "civil war" has pretty much gone flat, although al Qaeda is doing its damnedest to reignite it again.

You are of course aware of what's been going on in Anbar, and why. In the past few days a similar effort to align local leaders against the terrorists has been organized in the currently critical Diyala province. This has not shown up in the press to any great extent. After all, all they have to do is say "suicide bomber kills 40 Iraqis," and their story is complete as far as they're concerned.

This doesn't change the original thesis, that a large contingent of the Left, including many in politica power, are convinced that pulling out of Iraq will have no major negative consequences, and that the terrorists will largely stand down rather than redouble their attacks.

Log in or register to post.

The whole thread (63 posts)