Iraq
Posted : July 8, 2007 at 12:02 am [America/Los_Angeles]
A suicide bomber killed 23 Iraqi recruits hours after they joined the army when he rammed a truck into their vehicle near Baghdad on Sunday…Police and army officials said the bomber who targeted the recruits drove into a truck carrying the young Sunni Arab men to Baghdad just after they had joined the army in western Anbar province…Sunni Arab tribal leaders in Anbar have rounded up thousands of men to join local security forces to fight Sunni Islamist al Qaeda, in anger at the militant group’s indiscriminate killings of civilians and harsh interpretation of Islam.
- “Bomber kills 23 army recruits, weekend toll at 250″
It’s hard to tell what’s really going on in Iraq. Information that ultimately reaches us almost always seems to be skewed in favor of the bias that the media organization reporting the news has held about the Iraq war. That being said, I try to read as many news items as I can on this subject. I don’t think it takes much to see that the members of Al Qaeda in Iraq have taken a leaf from the strategies adopted by the British Empire on its subjects - Divide and Conquer. The goal is simple - If they can force the Indians Iraqis to see their fellow countrymen as Hindus Shia or Muslims Sunni and fuel hatred and anger amongst them for each other, they will never be able to build an independent and tolerant India Iraq. Needless to say, the historic personal distrust and animosity between the two factions makes things relatively easy for them. That being said, news clips like the one quoted above sure makes you wonder if the local leaders (in this case, Sunni tribal leaders) are finally getting the picture and are trying to do something about it.
At the end of the day, it seems fair to conclude that the US forces are primarily being targeted by allies of Al Qaeda, not some Sunni or Shia or Kurd who is pissed off at Americans. Also, it sure seems hard for US forces in Iraq to know who is a friend (a Shia or a Sunni or a Kurd seeking/offering help) or a foe (member of Al Qaeda). However, I would be surprised if the local Iraqis can’t tell the difference. And the more we can get the local Iraqis to see this as a fight between them and these Al Qaeda elements who could care less about Iraq or Iraqis, the better our chances are with these suckers. It would be quite a pity to let the sacrifices of US forces and Iraqi civilians all go in vain. In the end, I would like to think Iraqis will not do what the Palestinians in Gaza seem to have done. But they have to hurry here. Time is not on their side.
- Anand
Category: US |
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