The Entry of the Sunni Mujahideen

Michael Scheuer has an interesting series of articles at the Asian Times from the The Jamestown Foundation. A window in the coming Blowback, that has already reared it's ugly head in many places and is stoked by throwing intense flames onto the already started fire?

The latest report is called MUJAHIDEEN BLEED-THROUGH, Part 4 with a subtitle "Palestine and Israel: The ring of terror tightens"

Seems al Qaeda is not only growing but thriving and expanding rapidly with more fringe groups, which is what al Qaeda is, forming under that umbrella of Criminal Terrorism and according to Scheuer targeting Israel and U.S. Interests

As discussed earlier in this series of articles, the entry of Sunni mujahideen from Iraq into Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon has been a fairly visible process and tracking it - at least in outline form - is an achievable task.

This group falls under the name "Salafi" or "Salafism" which is the correct descriptive name of the often used term "Wahhabi", at least according to this site:

What is a Salafi and What is Salafism?

The reader will notice that the word "Wahhabi" is always indented with quotation marks here at TheWahhabiMyth.com. Those who are labeled with this word do not themselves use this term, as it is used as a means of belittlement. The reasons for the rejection of this term are clearly outlined throughout this book. The correct way of referring to them is by terming them Salafis, as they are those who adhere to the way of the Salaf - the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) and his companions.

Following the way of the Salaf is the way which has been legislated in the Quran and Sunnah, the very sources of Islam. The Prophet (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) said to his daughter Fatimah: "Indeed, I am for you a blessed Salaf."

When asked about which was the correct and acceptable way of understanding Islam, the Prophet (may Allah raise his rank and grant him peace) replied by saying: "That which I and my companions are upon."

Scheuer describes the movements of the Salafi and it's goals.

the goal of the mujahideen from Iraq has been clear: (a) to spread Salafi beliefs in the Levant countries and (b) to place fighters as close to Israel as possible. These Salafi Islamists are, in essence, trying to create a space where they can begin to operate inside Israel. Whether they succeed in that goal is an open question, but their intent is clear.

There have been a few, very few, reports about so called in-fighting in Gaza long before the recent Carnage going on today. Here it seems it's reported as fighting between factions within Hamas, apparently that may not be the case.

Al-Qaeda and its Salafi allies have long viewed Palestine as "an Islamic endowment", a place to which "every Muslim has the right to set out for jihad in its land". Osama bin Laden, moreover, has long railed against the governments of Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon for preventing non-Palestinian mujahideen from basing themselves in their countries. Bin Laden's gripe has now been satisfied to an extent, not by his own hand, but by courtesy of the regional destabilization caused by the United States-led war in Iraq. Salafi fighters of various nationalities are now flowing into the Levant from Iraq.

In Palestine, there seems to be a minor Salafi presence in the West Bank but a steadily growing military and proselytizing presence in Gaza. The above noted "Army of Islam" and several other Salafi organizations have created training facilities in Gaza and have displayed them to the international media, defiantly proclaiming, "We are coming Jews!" They have, to date, conducted some attacks on the Israeli army when its units were engaged in raids in Gaza, and have attacked Christian and American targets in Gaza.

The bleed-through from Iraq also is having some impact in the Palestinian territories - especially Gaza - and in Israel.

The Salafi have apparently taken some actions against the Israeli's but on a minor scale so far.

and the Salafis appear to spend just as much time fighting with their erstwhile Islamist colleagues in Hamas.

As the Salafists in Gaza began to preach and attract followers there appears to have been an implicit understanding reached between the Salafist leaders and Hamas. The deal allowed the Salafists to train fighters, attack Israeli targets, and preach in Gaza as long as they did not engage in Gaza's internal political system and did not try to impose their ideology by force on Palestinians.

This has been an unstable deal at best; even as the Salafists acquiesced to Hamas' terms, they declared their belief that "Hamas does not implement the rule of God on earth, and does not enforce any ruling of the Islamic Sharia". There have been fire-fights between Salafists and Hamas security forces during the latter's raids of Salafi mosques and other sites. On one occasion this fall, Hamas policeman killed nine members of the Army of Islam, earning a promise of revenge from the group's leaders.

While the recent actions of the Israeli's, as many are now saying, have enhanced the Palestinian Elected Hamas, which had been losing stature, it may actually be emboldening, and making it easier, for the Salafi Mujahideen to recruit not only Hamas fighters but other Palestinians and not only in Gaza but on the West Bank as well.

As the cut above says "but by courtesy of the regional destabilization caused by the United States-led war in Iraq. Salafi fighters of various nationalities are now flowing into the Levant from Iraq", the legacy being left, and forcast by many, has been rapidly taking place. Not only as to the instability of the region because of Iraq but this administration's ignoring the Israeli and Palestinian issue for eight years, with their partners the Likud government in Israel, and our present Secretary of State Condi Rice total lack of concern and action as to the recent past leading to the Israeli Destruction now taking place in Gaza, while earlier her and bush pledging more involvement and a Peace Deal before they Slither Away!!

Once again the link to this recent write: MUJAHIDEEN BLEED-THROUGH, Part 4

And the previous three:

PART 1: Syria: Terror's made-to-order milieu

PART 2: Lebanon: Last stop on a jihad highway

PART 3: Jordan: Al-Qaeda clouds a precarious future

Something you may also want to view:

The Power of Nightmares

A 3-Part BBC Video Series
This 3-part BBC video series documents the history of Islamic fundamentalism and neo-conservatism. Although it runs several hours long, it is well worth the time to view it.

The Power of Nightmares Part 1: “Baby it's Cold Outside“

The Power of Nightmares Part 2: The Phantom Victory - by Adam Curtis

The Power of Nightmares Part 3: The Shadows in the Cave

And what will happen within Iraq especially adding the actions taking place in Gaza?

‘Sons of Iraq’ role causes some worry

By Thursday, when the security agreement between Iraq and the United States takes effect, about 75 percent of the "Sons of Iraq" groups in the country will be under Iraqi responsibility, U.S. officials said this week.

The transition of the armed groups from U.S. control began last year and has been one of the key worries in cementing the security gains seen in the country in recent months. More than 100,000 "Sons of Iraq" members had been recruited in Iraq over the past two years — some of them former insurgents, most of them young men without jobs.

Michael Scheuer served in the CIA for 22 years before resigning in 2004. He served as the chief of the Bin Laden Unit at the Counterterrorist Center from 1996 to 1999. He is the once anonymous author of Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror; his most recent book is Marching Toward Hell: America and Islam After Iraq. Dr Scheuer is a Senior Fellow with The Jamestown Foundation.

From Bad, to Worse

Following what has been going on in Iraq and trying to follow Afghanistan, with the little, until recently, we get about that theater, I've had a growing uneasy feeling.

We all know that the bush doctrine has been a total failure and I need not go into the whole extreme mess these power hungry idiots have made. There is one thing I do see they succeeded in, creating an enemy and building that into a fear for Perpetual Conflict, replacing the Cold War Mentality to justify Huge Defense Contracts, Huge Profits, and the needed fear factor in the populace of not only the U.S. but the western world, the rest already have their problems from the wests continuing failed policies towards them, of which helped create this enemy.

It's has been rather hard to follow the news on Afghanistan, but it can be done if following overseas reporting.

Than this tragedy happened:

Sgt. Jacob Walker and Spc. Tyler Stafford talk about the attack

Soldiers recount deadly attack on Afghanistan outpost


The insurgents found a weakness, not at the base as much as in backup for or distance to nearest backup, soldiers, air by U.S. or NATO or Afghan forces.

Lately, along with the Obama visit, the above and more is now being focused on what should have been over with long ago, with the ouster of the Taliban and we already should have accomplished the search for al Qaeda there as well as being deep into rebuilding and helping the Afghans use their natural resources to build their long lost economy.

The growing uneasiness is the expansion of both conflicts, laying low in Iraq, for the present, and recruiting around the region and possibly the world for a buildup by the insurgents as to Afghanistan with the unstable government there as well as in Pakistan.

Everyones been worried about an attack on Iran and that fear has been placed front and center for a long time by those controlling the talk, while virtually silent on Afghanistan and Pakistan, either not caring about the tensions there or just plain ignoring it. I choose the latter what with their track record to date.

I caught this the other day.

Along with the Taliban's ongoing progress in Afghanistan, al-Qaeda has strengthened its position in Pakistan's tribal areas, reinforced by a steady stream of new recruits from other countries and an expansion of its networks among local tribes.

The situation reached a point where the Pakistani security agencies, in connivance with the Saudi establishment, felt they had to act. They hatched a plot to establish a proxy network in a newly formed Taliban group that rivals the anti-state al-Qaeda franchise of Baitullah Mehsud's Pakistan Tehrik-i-Taliban.

It didn't work, as the report will tell you, but notice this in the above: "reinforced by a steady stream of new recruits from other countries", wasn't the intelligence watching this, if so why doesn't it seem that actions were taken especially as to beefing up firebases like the one that was attacked!

Today I find this:

al Qaeda calls for a new Afghan 'Jihad'

Afghanistan, and not Iraq -- is the main front of struggle

In the video Escobar states this: "If they win this battle with the infidals than they can go to the land of the two rivers, that's Iraq."

Al Qaeda is back with a vengeance. Mustafa Abu al-Yazeed, interviewed by Pakistan’s Geo TV says “there is no difference between the American people and their government”. He goes on to attack the Pakistan government for suppressing the Islamist movement. He calls for Jihad in Afghanistan, on both sides of the Pakistan/Afghan border. As far as future US policy goes, Obama is on a learning curve while McCain seems geographically challenged.

Pepe Escobar has written this up as well over at the Asia Times not completely following what the video gives, but real close.

"At this stage this is our understanding - that there is no difference between the American people and the American government itself. If we see this through sharia [Islamic] law, American people and the government itself are infidels and are fighting against Islam. We have to rely on suicide attacks which are absolutely correct according to Islamic law. We have adopted this way of war because there is a huge difference between our material resources and our enemy's, and this is the only option to attack our enemy."

This isn't a religious confrontation, it is made so by the leading players on both sides and their supporters, which suites them fine, for the purposes of the fear factor they want to instill.

Al-Qaeda's strategy is to suck in the US military - this is classic Osama bin Laden ideology, according to which the US should be dragged to fight in Muslim lands. Al-Qaeda is reasoning that an attack on the tribal areas, in fact a real third front in the "war on terror" (so dreaded by chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen) will have Pakistani public opinion so outraged that the Pakistani army would be powerless to follow the US track. And al-Qaeda, in the end, would be left with an even freer hand.

As to the use of this so called 'surge' that supposedly worked so well, if you listen to the rovian 'revisionist history' being spoken by McCain and those who support the bush doctrine, whatever the hell that is, one just needs to go back to the selling of this 'surge' by bush and those involved, these 'revisionist history' creaters get away with it because the ones that listen to them don't remember nor do they want to, as they debate themselves from both sides of their own argument.

The 'surge' worked great, security is tight, attacks are down, but as for any pulldown of troops, some 15,000 more still in theater than before the 'surge', well that depends on conditions on the ground.

If their 'surge' worked, as they are now defining it, than conditions on the ground are great, so thus troops not needed!

But lets see how well this 'surge' is working, as to the new definition:

Fallujah braces for another assault

In the face of US military claims of improved security, violence has been rising by the day this month. The city has now been placed under tight curfew while US and Iraqi military forces prepare for a new offensive,according to the local Azzaman daily.
Iraqi security forces have established new checkpoints around the city and are forbidding movement of people and traffic. Pick-up trucks are roaming the city warning residents that al-Qaeda has once again infiltrated Fallujah.

Seems the insurgents and whatever the U.S. wants to label al Qaeda of Iraq are still playing 'whack a mole' in country and laying low when they need to, hmmm sounds abit like 'Nam over those long years, or just like any guerilla war fought in an occupied country.


Than we have a few, there have been recent ones as well, reports about another part of the 'surge' the supporters don't discuss, the Government of Iraq, along with other reason for:


Kurds Object to Iraqi Provincial Election Law

“This vote has ruined the atmosphere of harmony which dominated Iraq in the recent period,” he said. “It paralyzed the elections. The chance of having an election during this year has been lost.”

Iraqis Take Flawed Step On Electoral Legislation

Losing political power in Kirkuk is likely to hinder the Kurds' long-standing goal of annexing the city into the Kurdistan Regional Government. Keegan said it's too early to tell how Kurds in Kirkuk will react to parliament's vote.

"The likelihood of a violent uprising is unlikely," he said. "A U.S. combat brigade sits up here."

"A U.S. combat brigade sits up here.", right like that's stopped anybody, like the Shiite's and the Sunni's, untill before the 'surge', these last 6 plus years!

It seems that a new 'mujahadeen' is forming or growing from an already established insurgent force along with al Qaeda and the Taliban, with the problems plaguing the Pakistan and Afghan governments, and they are now using the whole region in this game of 'whack a mole', and this spells deep trouble for the region as well as the forces of the U.S. and NATO!