The Anbar Ghost

Many brave Iraqi citizens have stood up to fight al-Qaeda in Iraq and to advance the security and stability of the Iraq Nation. Many have become targets for al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda also targets the families of these brave men and women.

One victim was Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, who was killed in a bombing Sept. 13. Abu Risha united the Tribes in the Anbar province and lead the efforts to work with the coalition forces to end al-Qaeda's occupation of Anbar.

I have been anticipating hearing who was responsible?, who will claim responsibility?, will they find the people responsible?, and will the people responsible be held accountable?

Well it looks like it was al-Qaeda (Islamic Army of Iraq the militant wing of al-Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility) This is what I assumed it would be, but I feared what could happen if it was the Iranian backed Shiite insurgents. As ussual Al-Qaeda used its standard tactics which included money to bribe men with weak ethics, and al-Qaeda used threats of violence.

The local citizens and tribes have announced they will be errecting a statue and naming a street as a sign of their respect and admirration of Abdul Sattar Abu Risha. I salute this brave Iraqi and those who have vowed to continue his work.

Here is video on Michael Yons website

Here is one sorce of information regarding the captured suspects:

25 Held in Slaying Of Iraqi Sunni Chief

Suspects Include Head of Security Detail

Associated Press
Sunday, September 23, 2007; Page A21

BAGHDAD, Sept. 22 -- The U.S. military on Saturday confirmed the arrests of 25 suspects in the assassination of a tribal leader who had allied himself with the United States and unified Sunni groups against the insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq.

The suspects were detained by the Iraqi police and include the head of the security detail that was supposed to protect Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, who was killed in a bombing Sept. 13, 2007 according to Lt. Col. Jubeir Rashid, an Iraqi police officer in Anbar province.

Click here for full article

Video of Abu Risha and recent News

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Iraqi Translator that was there when Dave Bremmer was injured while reporting in Iraq gets a a well deserved safe home in the USA

I saw a good video but can’t find the link doh!! (so if someone finds it send me the link)

It was about a translator who Dave Bremer claims helped save his life. The Iraqi translator had been shot many times and had to leave Iraq because of death threats. He had been living in Damascus Syria and Dave Bremmer met him their. Later with the help of a US Senator (anyone know which Senator? let us know please) and the US commander the translator was able to get a US visa and sanctuary. He is now living with the US military officer that he worked with in Iraq. In fact the translator will be staying in the officer’s son's room. The office's son is on his way back to Iraq.

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Iraqs foreign Minister leading the path for changes and peace - Video

I enjoyed wathing the below linked videos and look forward to finding some more. Iraq's foreign Minister is an Iraqi Kurd and has been very successful at his job. As he explains so well, he was once an insurgent fighting the Saddam regime. He seems to be one of the few making a big difference.He most resentley has been encouraging more U.N. involvment in Iraq, and telling the British and Aussie's to stay the course. He was the instrument that opened talks between Iraq and Iran something that has not happened in I think in almost tens years. He is charismatic and has a great sense of humor, so I hope you enjoy the videos. He jokes about discussions with Crocker and Petraeus were he says to them "as a former insurgent...."

Iraq's Foreign Minister - Video Click here

Here is one video he is urging Australia and Britian to stay the corse in Iraq. Click Here for the Video

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Failed suicide bomber turns on al Qaeda - Video

Here is an interesting Video of a Saudi Citizen who killed 12 people in an al Qaeda suicide attack in Iraq. He is one of over 1,000 Saudi citizens who have attended re-education programs, aimed at reversing the brain washing done by al-Qaeda and other radical views of Islam. He was told to drive a tanker truck to an address. Once the truck got to the address the truck was remotely detonated. The Saudi insurgent was burned very bad yet he survied. He pleaded guilty to the terrorist attack. He now works for a new Saudi agency that works to educate about the realities and lies of Jihad. Saudi Arabia has been the largest producer of Jihadists in Iraq. Approx. 1,000 have been caught or killed so far in Iraq. The number of Saudi men not yet caught in Iraq is of corse likely to be at least 3 times that, if not as many as 10 times that number. Saudi Arabia appears to be leading the fight to help catch these men before they go to Iraq. The involvement of the Saudi Government in stemming the tide of insurgents into Iraq was even noted by Patraeus when he talked about "new procedures in Saudi Arabia aimed at stoping one way airplanes tickets to Damascus" the current staging point for al Qaeda in Iraq.

Story Highlights

• Ahmad al Shayea, a Saudi, survived his suicide bombing mission in Iraq
• He says al Qaeda tricked him into delivering the truck bomb
• Al Shayea now works with the Saudi government to battle al Qaeda propaganda
• He tries to convince young Saudis not to join the terrorist organization

Click here to view the video

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Israeli commandos prepared Syria strike: paper

Reuters
Sunday, September 23, 2007; 8:20 AM

LONDON (Reuters) - A British newspaper said on Sunday Israeli commandos seized North Korean nuclear material in Syria to help secure U.S. approval for an Israeli air strike that destroyed a suspect weapons plant on September 6.

Click here for full Article

I am looking forward to find out more about this. Syria has been very hush hush and publicly state that they thwarted an Israeli air attack in Syria. However the bombs had to of fall somewhere? The exact date was not even being released but intel within Syria suggested an attack had occured on Sept 6th........ then the questions started......why is Syria and Israel not talking? the questions and the secret mission have lead to an interesting trail of events. - Ian Bach

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Glenn Beck

In a wave to a dear friend of mine I included the above link to Glenn Beck. Glenn is a bit of a nut but at least he ain't a lefty. So for some of my friends who could use a decent laugh Glenn Beck can supply that, interwoven with bits of information and News.

I recently had the pleasure to speak with my best friend. I was hoping I could get some stuff off my chest.Things that only a few people I know can I talk openly and candidly with, things like my experinces, fears, hopes, and dreams. Like me he has seen enough destruction and wasted lives, that he has demons he also represses still. I was disappointed I didn't get a chance to talk about most of the things I wish I could unload. But just talking with him was enough to help even my keel out a little. It took a few days before I got over the fact that I still have not unloaded some things..... but at least I feel I am making an effort now, and I feel good about that. But simply talking with someone who can relate helped most of all. - Ian Bach

Roger Trinquier

The below is from an Arab blog I often check out. But when he writes it's about the stuff that are the bigger picture and shows what we are missing here in USA News media. The above picture is Roger Trinquier. That is how important I feel his writings are and why I use his picture often. I woke up the day I read his writings. It illistrates best the use of terror as a tactic. I also have read and been interested in "Anarchists Cook Book" since age 15. Then "Gehgis Kahn" and his tactics since age 17, Hitler's "Mien Kumpf" age 18, and "Mao" age 20. (I am now in my 40's and still actively seek out historical and new information on tactics.

I grew up with and had friends who were and some still are Nazi, Anarchists, Thieves, gang members, surf punks(anarchists), surf Nazis (Huntington Beach and Newport CA), skate Nazi’s (from Sacramento), Zionists (Hollywood), Straight Edgers (Utah), and well you name it I know someone. Many of the people I have spoken with openly are high ranks, especialy when I was in jail for ... err... well I used to race my cars on the freeways. When in jail it would only take a day to days before I was under the umbrella of the current leaders in the jails I had the misfortune to attend. [a note: don't think I had to do any dasterdly deeds to get my protection. My asset was my knowledge and they can spot it a mile away. I am sure they made friends with me to learn rather than to use me........ or maybe they all just liked someone who would race illegally?]

Some were misguided, some were or are just dumb blind followers, others had something in their past or culture that created the hate, but all of which are spread by people who hate and they use disenfranchised people to do their evil deeds. Still today in the construction industry I work with many ex or current gang members some were/are very high ranked members. I have always been the chameleon that was able to get the fly on the wall view. I didn't share their views, but somehow they felt that they could speak very openly about their beliefs.

We currently teach John Nagl's tactics for counter insurgency but I really think the troops [and the public] are missing out. If you want to get inside a terrorists mind to understand why they use terror and how read Trinqueir. I made a link to Abu Muqawama's Blog at end of this article. I wish every good person in the world would read Triquier's writings. If only the bad people read it we are doomed. I am not overstating this. There is no doubt that if we don't act now we lose ground each day. - Ian Bach

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Roger Trinquier

By Abu Muqawama

"A slave to its training and traditions, our army has not succeeded in adapting itself to a form of warfare the military schools do not yet teach. Its valient efforts, sufferings, and sacrifices serve to obstruct the enemy, to slow down the execution of his plan, but they have been incapable of stopping the enemy from attaining his objective. " by Roger Trinquer

This might have easily been written about the U.S. Army in Iraq and Afghanistan but was instead written in 1961, by Roger Trinquier, on the French in Algeria and Indochina. Abu Muqawama has added Trinquier's La Guerre Moderne to the counterinsurgency reading list. Three notes on Trinquier:

1. Trinquier is controversial because he advocates the use of torture in interrogations as part of an effective counterinsurgency strategy. His argument is clear, logical, and grounded in Clausewitz's admonition against "moderation in war" but is, ultimately, unconvincing. Abu Muqawama remains unconvinced of either the effectiveness or the morality of torture. That having been said, Trinquier's work is invaluable for the following two reasons.

2. Trinquier understands terror is a tactic. A "War on Terror," thus, is absurd. Military professionals and civilian policy-makers need to understand that terror is simply a tactic that can be used and discarded by the opponent when he or she feels fit. The last suicide bombing Hizbollah carried out was in 1992. The last terror attack abroad? 1994. When a guerilla group sees terror as ineffective, it will cease to use it as a tactic. The fight against "terror" should not be the focus of the counterinsurgent.

3. Alongside his compatriot David Galula, Trinquier stresses the need for any effective counterinsurgent to focus on the population. Much of what Trinquier argues for can be found in the U.S. military's new field manual on counterinsurgency and can be seen in the day-to-day tactcis now being employed (too late?) in Iraq and (just in time) in Afghanistan.

Abu Muqawama highly recommends this invaluable little book. Praeger just re-released it with a foreword by Eliot Cohen and an excellent introduction by the late Bernard Fall.

The great game

“Political cartoon depicting the Afghan Amir Sher Ali with his "friends" Russia & Britain (1878).

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Islamist Guerrillas in Northwest Africa IV

In light of yesterday's attacks in Algiers, Abu Muqawama is going to link to some reading on Islamist militant groups in Algeria and the attacks themselves. First is Emily Hunt's piece on the GSPC. Emily spent time in Algeria researching this piece last year and has written a good primer on one of Algeria's militant groups -- albeit from a U.S.-centric perspective. Next, a timeline from Le Figaro showing other Islamist attacks in Algeria since 2000. Third, here is a link to Le Monde's coverage of the attacks, which has lots of videos, background reading, pictures, and a link to today's editorial. Finally, here is a link to the BBC's coverage, which includes a link to BBC World's video report.

Le Monde is one of the better sources I like. But the link above isn't working so here it is

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/041307G.shtml