Insurgents Seize Key Town in Iraq

[ECH1969]

Al Qaeda in Iraq's Black Banner Flying From Rooftops

BAGHDAD, Sept. 5 -- Abu Musab Zarqawi's foreign-led Al Qaeda in Iraq took open control of a key western town at the Syrian border, deploying its guerrilla fighters in the streets and flying Zarqawi's black banner from rooftops, witnesses, residents and others in the city and surrounding villages said.

A sign newly posted at the entrance of Qaim declared, "Welcome to the Islamic Kingdom of Qaim." A statement posted in mosques described Qaim as an "Islamic kingdom liberated from the occupation."

Zarqawi's fighters were killing officials and civilians seen as government-allied or anti-Islamic, witnesses, residents and others said. On Sunday, the bullet-riddled body of a woman lay in a street of Qaim. A sign left on her corpse declared, "A prostitute who was punished."

The Albu Mahal tribe as of Sunday remained in control of its village outside the city. However, a car bomb placed by Zarqawi's fighters in front of the home of a tribal leader, Sheikh Dhyad Ahmed, killed the sheikh and his son on Sunday, resident Mijbil Saied said. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. or Iraqi military. A U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, Lt. Col. Steven Boylan, said he was looking into the reports.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/05/AR2005090500313.html

[Cocoa]

1. they're getting desperate

now they're resorting to siezing towns.

[xchrom]

2. lol -- yes

that's some desperation.

[IndianaGreen]

11. They are on the last throes

pretty soon they will be committing suicide.

Victory is at hand!

There is light at the end of the tunnel!

Nail that coonskin to the wall!

[0007]

15. I'll never forget that statement Johnson made

Nail that coonskin to the wall!

[geckosfeet]

18. ROTFLOL n/t

[IndianaGreen]

20. Obviously, I did never forget the LBJ statement

as I never forgot, or forgave, VP Hubert Humphrey's statement in which he declared the Vietnam War to be "our country's greatest adventure!"

[Yupster]

28. Another famous Johnson quote

talking about his vice-president, he reported quipped,

"I've got Hubert's pecker in my pocket."

The prose of LBJ.

[CoffeeCat]

31. We're turning a corner! Mission accomplished! (nt)

[Bobbieo]

50. They're getting desperate

For God's sake - THEY'RE WINNING!!! This is the Iraq that is to be thanks to Bush. Saddam would never have let those bastards in his country.

[Zodiak]

3. Well, then...

Let's just bomb the whole city to oblivion...every brick of it.

After all, we can trust reports coming out of Iraq. There are reporters everywhere, taking pictures, interviewing refugees, showing that Zarquawi in the flesh for all Americans to see and believe.

:sarcasm:

I see so many parallels to New Orleans in this. Maybe it is just this week, but I am getting really tired of unconfirmed reports, "sightings" and non-verifiable accounts being used as a justification for death, slaughter, mayhem, fascism, oppression, and corporate greed.

Show me Zarquawi...show me Al Queda (yeah, I want documents, evidence, trials) or I will just chalk this up to "insurgents" in general and another indication of what a cluster fuck they have made Iraq. Just like they have New Orleans.

The Russians didn't believe Pravda, either.

[ECH1969]

5. There are tens of thousands of Sunnis in these towns and cities

Let's just bomb the whole city to oblivion...every brick of it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Bombing them would inflame the entire region against us. As I said before, there is no way to win.

[TheWraith]

43. I take it that you've never had classes in recognizing sarcasm? NT

[Strabo]

8. agreed...

We must destroy this village in order to save it!


:sarcasm:

[RaleighNCDUer]

47. Well, why not? If the insurgents have already killed the government

supporters, that means that everyone who is left supports the insurgents, making them insurgents themselves.

Right?

Drop a couple daisy cutters and declare a glorious victory for democracy.

[ECH1969]

4. losing and losing bad

It was unclear whether any Iraqi forces were in Qaim. A Zarqawi fighter said any Marines and Iraqi forces had left Qaim, with "nothing left of their crosses." Armed insurgent fighters loyal to the Jordanian-born Zarqawi openly traveled Qaim's streets. The fighters included both Iraqis and foreigners, including Afghans.

Shops selling CDs, a movie theater and a women's beauty parlor were newly burned, apparently targeted by Zarqawi's group under its strict interpretation of Islamic law. Residents said Zarqawi's fighters were killing most government workers

Zarqawi's fighters had taken control of the town's hospital, one of its medical workers, Dr. Muhammed Ismail, said. The hospital's director then ordered all patients to leave, fearing the presence of Zarqawi's fighters would draw air strikes on the clinic, Ismail said. Zarqawi fighters manned checkpoints on the four entrances to the city.

There was no immediate comment from the U.S. or Iraqi military. A U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, Lt. Col. Steven Boylan, said he was looking into the reports.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/05/AR2005090500313_2.html

[Zodiak]

6. you know

In those three little paragraphs you cited, the reporter mentions Zarquawi 7 times. You think that might be for a reason?

Insurgents are now "Zarquawi fighters"?

[ECH1969]

7. Pretty much

Much of the resistance has come under the Zarqawi umbrella.

Why should that matter?

[Zodiak]

10. It matters because...

A. I have seen no evidence of that other than assertions from our military and Bush administration officials. All proven liars with a dog in the race.

and

B. I do not trust Emmanual Goldstein scenarios without indisputable proof because of the effectiveness of such a tool as propaganda.

Don't blame me for cynicism; it results from being forced to eat loads and loads of shit for the last 20 years of my life only to find out much of I thought was true is a lie.

[acmavm]

9. This Zarquawi (notice they spell it differently in almost every article?)

anyway, this is one mean, menacing, smart mofo. He sure has the Iraqi forces and the American occupiers chasing their tails, don't he?

I have my doubts about all this. Unless he's the new 'Underdog'. Remember that old cartoon. How'd the theme song go?

He's here
He's there
He's everywhere
So beware

Whatever.

[ECH1969]

12. I doubt very much he actually control operations

I don't think he is actually in Iraq anymore then Bin Laden is in Afghanistan. And, I don't think he has operational control of the insurgents that carry out these raids.

What seems to be going on is that he is simply a financial hub for the insurgency and a symbol for them. He supplies alot of groups in Iraq like Ansar al-Sunna with money, but they are still controlled by Iraqis.

[acmavm]

21. To hear these guys tell it, he's on his shoe phone to every terrorist on

the planet giving orders constantly. And by these guys I mean the mouthpieces for the whacky bush** administration and their crack intelligence team.

[belle]

19. Oh, swell. Just swell.

Nice going, assholes.

[bemildred]

13. Sounds like bullshit to me.

Particularly the "Zarqawi's fighters" stuff.
There is nothing strange in the occupation being kicked out
of al-Qaim, or leaving, as the case may be, but the attempt
to create a demon enemy here sounds like bullshit, and not
subtle bullshit either.

[shavedape]

14. that gosh durn freedom sure is messy (NT)

[Oreegone]

16. They refer to residents of NO as Refugees & Insurgents

So we really have no idea who they are talking about, but we have a clue.

[MzShellG]

23. I noticed that too.

Didnt think the day would come so sone that 'Americans' in America would be called insurgents, during the 'War on Terra'. Appalling.

[Kittycat]

17. The Last Throws eom

[oneinok]

22. I think it is a trap

to lure Americans out in the open to fight.

[Roland99]

24. That Zarqawi sure gets around and managed quite the chain of command

in such a short amount of time.


:eyes:

[Laelth]

25. If it weren't deadly serious ...

... some of the reactions in this thread might be funny. "Coalition" forces can't even control Baghdad, much less worry about a small town on the Western border. This article merely states the obvious--that Al Qaeda has a presence (now, after the invasion) in Iraq.

Duh!

-Laelth

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

26. The Syrian border?

Feint.

[daleo]

27. After New Orleans, how will the morale of U.S. soldiers hold up?

The army draws disproportionately from African Americans and rural whites, and both of those groups were hit hard by the hurricane. African American soldiers must really be wondering, given the indifference shown towards the poor (mostly black) of New Orleans.

It seems hard to believe that the Iraq war can be sustained now, financially, politically or psychologically.

[northzax]

29. al Qaim, meet New Orleans

I'm sure this will win some more hearts and minds...

[usregimechange]

30. m;pm

[Gloria]

32. Insurgents Seize Key Town in Iraq--WaPo (Zarqawi-AQ Banner flying)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/05/AR2005090500313_pf.html

Insurgents Seize Key Town in Iraq
Al Qaeda in Iraq's Black Banner Flying From Rooftops

By Ellen Knickmeyer
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, September 5, 2005; 6:51 PM

BAGHDAD, Sept. 5 -- Abu Musab Zarqawi's foreign-led Al Qaeda in Iraq took open control of a key western town at the Syrian border, deploying its guerrilla fighters in the streets and flying Zarqawi's black banner from rooftops, tribal leaders and other residents in the city and surrounding villages said.

A sign newly posted at the entrance of Qaim declared, "Welcome to the Islamic Kingdom of Qaim." A statement posted in mosques described Qaim as an "Islamic kingdom liberated from the occupation."

Zarqawi's fighters were killing officials and civilians seen as government-allied or anti-Islamic, witnesses, residents and others said. On Sunday, the bullet-riddled body of a woman lay in a street of Qaim. A sign left on her corpse declared, "A prostitute who was punished."

Zarqawi's fighters had shot to death nine men in public executions in the city center since the weekend, accusing the men of being spies and collaborators for U.S. forces, said Sheikh Nawaf Mahallawi, a leader of a Sunni Arab tribe, the Albu Mahal, that had battled the foreign fighters.

Dozens of families were fleeing Qaim daily, Mahallawi said.

"It would be insane to attack Zarqawi's people, even to shoot one bullet at them," Mahallawi said. "We cannot attack them. But we will not stand still if they attack us. We hope the U.S. forces end this in the coming days. We want the city to go back to its normal situation."

MORE

[Gloria]

33. SHameless KICK!!! The Al Qaeda flags are flying over an Iraqi Town,

for Pete's sake!!

[NYC]

40. Not for Pete's sake.

For Bush's sake.

[bribri16]

34. If they are located in one spot, shouldn't it be easy to take them out?

WTF?

[Bob3]

35. sorry I don't by this

Guerrilla forces do not take over towns like we do - they don't tear down statues and put up flags - to do that is to invite a toe to toe confrontation with U.S. Forces something they can't win - they just walk in a mingle with the locals "a guerrilla lives inside the people like a fish in the sea" to quote Mao I think.

And the other false note is the whole foreign bogeyman coming in and taking the town away from loyal us loving (implied not said) Iraqi citizens. The Insurgents are overwhelmingly locals.

The more I think about the more I realize I've read this story before but it was set in the Mekong Delta in Viet Nam.

[rodeodance]

36. i think it illustrates how very unprepared they are regarding ANY semblanc

of taking over for US forces!!

.....
"It would be insane to attack Zarqawi's people, even to shoot one bullet at them," Mahallawi said. "We cannot attack them. But we will not stand still if they attack us. We hope the U.S. forces end this in the coming days. We want the city to go back to its normal situation."

MORE

[Union Thug]

37. My gut reaction was that this was propaganda..

But we'll see how it plays out.

[bemildred]

38. Well, you know there aren't too many reporters running around out there.

:think:

[jsamuel]

39. a good sign is when the "Iraqi" says he wants the US to come and take his

city back...

not propaganda... not at all :sarcasm:

[Peace Patriot]

41. Smells badly of psyops. The dead prostitute is a giveaway--so much

like the Kuwaiti babies in the incubators. Worrisome, though--right on the border of Syria. "Gulf of Tonkin" incident coming?

Bush is in a briarpatch of political woes. Timing is right.

[RaleighNCDUer]

48. He does need a quick little Falluja to distract us from NO. nt

[Mika]

42. Can this town be surrounded by a levee?

That way BushCrimeInc can bust it and force an evacuation. :eyes:


Banners from rooftops? Bodies laying in the streets? Nine shot to death? Families fleeing? Hope US forces come in to save them?

Sound familiar?

[Bobbieo]

44. Zarqawi Followers Seize Key Town

From the The Arizona Republic - September 6, 2005

"Baghdad - Abu Musab Zarqawi's foreign-led al Qaida in Iraq took open control Monday of a key western town at the Syrian border, deploying its guerrilla fighters in the streets and flying Zarqawi's black banner from rooftops, said tribal leaders and other residents in the city and surrounding villages.

"A sign newly posted at the entrance of Qaim declared, 'Welcome to the Islamic Kingdom of Qaim'. A statement posted in mosques described Qaim as an 'Islamic kingdom liberated from the occupation'.

"On Sunday, the bullet-riddled body of a woman lay in a street of Qaim. A sign left at her corpse declared, 'A prostitute who was punished'."

[daninthemoon]

45. Where is the media?

[ECH1969]

46. The German Press has it

Islamic militant and one of America's most wanted terrorists, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, is now technically the leader of a small country.

There tends to be something a little odd about the world's smallest countries. The Vatican City, Papal playground and spiritual center of Catholicism, doesn't in fact have any permanent residents. Monaco, a parking lot for sports cars and limousines on the French Riviera, is a tax haven and gamblers paradise. And turn the wrong way down a street in Lichtenstein in the Alps, and you'll have left this tiny country without even knowing it.

But, the latest graduate to the world of miniature statehood, the "Islamic Republic of Qaim," is unlikely to be on the geopolitical radar for very long.

The town, population 30,000, lies 2 miles from the Syrian border, and is now bustling with Islamic fighters, who have begun executing "collaborators" and punishing residents for anti-Islamic practices (e.g. drinking alcohol). The report details an array of horrific acts committed by the militants and foresees a major showdown with allied forces in the coming days. Families have begun fleeing the violence in expectation of a major military assault on the town.

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,373376,00.html

[defiant1]

49. Just another day at the office....

:puke:

[Bobbieo]

51. Zarqawi Banner Flyin From Qaim

Isn't that the area near the Syrian border where the terrorist were coming into Iraq? If so, Zarqawi can begin to build his army so civil war it is inevitable.