Foreign fighters gain Fallujah foothold

[CShine]

Foreign insurgents, suspected of having links to al-Qaeda, have established a firm foothold in the Iraqi city of Fallujah. A well-armed group infiltrated the city before fighting erupted in March and is continuing to mount operations against the coalition and Westerners in the area - in defiance of leaders of Fallujah's mosques, the army and the police force.

The group, led by Abu Abdullah, a young Saudi, is linked to kidnappings of Westerners, particularly journalists. Its members include Wahhabi Muslims, the ultra-fundamentalist sect that spawned Osama bin Laden.

Fallujah's leaders, who follow different Islamic fundamentalist teachings, fear that the Saudis belong to an al-Qaeda cell seeking a final showdown between Islam and America in the Middle East. A senior sheikh in Fallujah said the group was "out of control".

"We are worried that they are part of al-Qaeda. That means that we will have to force them out and it will be hard. But this is our country we are fighting for, and it is our fight with the Americans. They have their own country and their own ideas, which we do not share."

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/05/31/1085855497136.html?from=storylhs

[bemildred]

1. Not giving up on the "foreign fighters" meme, are they? nt

[Media_Lies_Daily]

2. Or the propaganda ploy that they are somehow connected to Al Qaeda...

They couldn't just simply be Iraqis fighting for their country, could they? If the NeoCons had to admit that, they would probably be very ashamed of what they're doing. But being ashamed implies that they have some kind of conscience, and no evidence exists that the NeoCons even understand the concept.

[newyorican]

3. Will we see a repeat...

of the Vietnam exit strategy? (eg. helos from the embassy rooftop, aka: get the fuck out of dodge)

[hedda_foil]

4. This meme may be linked to yesterday's news

Eloriel posted a thread yesterday with a news story that reported Iraqi forces in Falujah were passing out flyers explaining that Al Sadr was killed in just such an event. Interestingly, he's quite alive, which led people to believe there was a timing screw-up.

[FreakinDJ]

5. Pure Propaganda

Again and again they try to blame "Foreign insurgents"

When are they going to come to the realization that people of Iraq have their own idea of what they want for government. The more the US fights this idea the more we breed young fighter willing to give their life to the cause

[cosmicdot]

6. oil field secure; borders not ... satellites and other state-of-the-art

technology aren't working to witness border crossing of "foreign fighters/insurgents"????

what's fact? what's fiction?

"led by Abu Abdullah, a young Saudi" <-- is he, like, in Iraq or operating by a cell phone

if there, how difficult would it be to 'arrest/capture' him ... makes me think the WH isn't in any rush to wrap things up?

kind of like running a corporation ... keep everything confusing so no one can figure out what the good ol'boys are doing

"fear that the Saudis belong to an al-Qaeda cell"

... Saudi, Saudis ... Saudi, Saudis ...