The Good News From Iraq thread

[USN_Squid]

It was another great day on the road to a free and democratic Iraq as three more provinces were turned over to Iraqi officials this week.
The AFP reported:


ARBIL, Iraq (AFP) - In a blaze of pomp showcasing Kurdish military muscle, US forces handed over responsibility for security in Iraq's three northern provinces to the Kurdish regional government on Wednesday...

Sulaimaniyah, Arbil and Dohuk provinces are ruled by the Kurdish Regional Government, which has its own executive and ministries and has been spared much of the unrest wracking the rest of Iraq.

"Today is another success in the process of rebuilding Iraq," Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said at a ceremony in his capital, Arbil.

The handover was followed by a parade of Kurdish soldiers, including an all-female martial arts display.

"This is the result of the experience of 16 years," he said referring to Iraqi Kurdistan's history of de facto independence since the 1991 Gulf War weakened Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's grip on the mountainous north.

Iraqi-American Haider Ajina reported this earlier this week:


Kurdistan in its three provinces of Arbil, Sulaimaniya and Dehuck covers 14673.4 sq mi of Iraqi territory and a population of 3.8 million Iraqis. This represents 3.4% of Iraq’s territory and 15.2% of the population. In the south the provinces of Maysan, Nejaf, Muthena & Dhi Qar are already under Iraqi provincial control. By the time the hand over of the Kurdish provinces is complete seven out of eighteen Iraqi provinces will be under provincial control. The provinces under full Iraqi control, after the Kurdish provinces are handed over, will be a total of 35.4% of Iraq’s territory and 29% of the population.

All this has been achieved, in a country with little experience in democracy and the rule of law in its recent history and after 30 years of tyrannical rule, and only 4 short years since the liberation, and combating terrorists trying to destabilize an elected government.

All of this from Gateway Pundit

[USN_Squid]

We don’t hear or see much about Afghanistan in the media, other than when Americans are killed. The series “Winning Hearts and Minds” aims to change that, by following the lives and work of a group of US Army civil affairs soldiers as they help the locals rebuild, or in many cases build, Afghanistan.

Civil Affairs Mission in Afghanistan

[Lucky Shot]

Times Online reports that Al Queda members are leaving the organization in droves and becoming tipsters for the Iraqi people.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle2121006.ece

Lucky Shot

[AMosely]

Originally Posted by Lucky Shot

Times Online reports that Al Queda members are leaving the organization in droves and becoming tipsters for the Iraqi people.

While this is certainly good news, it's important to point out that this article is talking about Al Qaeda in Iraq, and not the 'original' Al Qaeda led by Bin Laden. Al Qaeda in Iraq is certainly a problem and the fact that they are not being well-received is a good one, however this development has very little to do with the Al Qaeda that brought about embassy bombings in Africa, the attack on the USS Cole and 9/11. In fact, the declassified portions of the recently released NIE strongly indicated that Al Qaeda was growing stronger and is poised to gain from certain electoral outcomes in Pakistan.

To me, all of this proves the point that the fighting in Iraq has done very little to disrupt Bin Laden's Al Qaeda in Pakistan. Coalition endeavors in Iraq have also served to provide propaganda materials for the broader Al Qaeda organization, which is a shame.

[Kerostasis]

Originally Posted by AMosely

While this is certainly good news, it's important to point out that this article is talking about Al Qaeda in Iraq, and not the 'original' Al Qaeda led by Bin Laden. Al Qaeda in Iraq is certainly a problem and the fact that they are not being well-received is a good one, however this development has very little to do with the Al Qaeda that brought about embassy bombings in Africa, the attack on the USS Cole and 9/11.

Replace "point out" with "claim" and you're on the right track. There are just as many who claim that Al-Qaeda in Iraq is a wholly owned subsidiary of Al-Qaeda-Not-in-Iraq. For example, from this story...

Originally Posted by General Bergner

At a press conference in Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner said the military had nabbed [Khaled Abdul-Fattah Dawoud Mahmoud al-Mashhadani], the seniormost Iraqi leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, a man he said was the link between that outfit and Osama bin Laden.
...
The latest Mashhadani captured is also described as involved in media operations, and carried messages from Mr. bin Laden and Mr. Zawahiri to the Egyptian-born head of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayub al-Masri, said General Bergner. "Communication between the senior al-Qaeda leadership and al-Masri frequently went through al-Mashhadani," he said. "There is a clear connection between Al Qaida in Iraq and Al Qaeda senior leadership outside Iraq."

[Pokerface]

I don't understand, Kero... what you're saying doesn't disprove anything AMosely said. Accepting your wholly-owned-subsidiary metaphor, AMosely's point still stands; it's members of the subsidiary that are leaving, and while they do indeed roll up to the same place, there are many other groups who also roll up that aren't in the subsidiary.

My apologies to my English teachers, and all of you, for stretching that metaphor to the point of breaking.

[xTYBALTx]

What if a hedge fund were to take a 30% stake on the AQiI subsidiary of AQ, with a wholesale corporate restructuring planned for FY2008 and intending to convince the board to take it public under an entirely new entity sometime between FY2011 and FY2012?

[Kerostasis]

Originally Posted by Pokerface

I don't understand, Kero... what you're saying doesn't disprove anything AMosely said. Accepting your wholly-owned-subsidiary metaphor, AMosely's point still stands; it's members of the subsidiary that are leaving, and while they do indeed roll up to the same place, there are many other groups who also roll up that aren't in the subsidiary.

I don't understand what you think I tried to disprove and failed. My point was my own, but related to Mosely's assertion that "this development has very little to do with the Al Qaeda that brought about embassy bombings in Africa, the attack on the USS Cole and 9/11," which I disagree with.

[Lucky Shot]

Originally Posted by AMosely

While this is certainly good news, it's important to point out that this article is talking about Al Qaeda in Iraq, and not the 'original' Al Qaeda led by Bin Laden. Al Qaeda in Iraq is certainly a problem and the fact that they are not being well-received is a good one, however this development has very little to do with the Al Qaeda that brought about embassy bombings in Africa, the attack on the USS Cole and 9/11. In fact, the declassified portions of the recently released NIE strongly indicated that Al Qaeda was growing stronger and is poised to gain from certain electoral outcomes in Pakistan.

To me, all of this proves the point that the fighting in Iraq has done very little to disrupt Bin Laden's Al Qaeda in Pakistan. Coalition endeavors in Iraq have also served to provide propaganda materials for the broader Al Qaeda organization, which is a shame.

Sorry, did I post this in the wrong thread? This seemed to be the place to post about good news in Iraq. Thought I did a pretty decent job of limiting it to Iraq by discussing how they have become informants to Iraqi's.

Lucky Shot

[USN_Squid]

Another great site for good news from Iraq: http://victorycaucus.com/index.php

[AMosely]

Originally Posted by Lucky Shot

Sorry, did I post this in the wrong thread? This seemed to be the place to post about good news in Iraq. Thought I did a pretty decent job of limiting it to Iraq by discussing how they have become informants to Iraqi's.

Lucky Shot

You did post good news, but summarized it incorrectly ("Times Online reports that Al Queda members are leaving the organization in droves and becoming tipsters for the Iraqi people.") I was only pointing out that the news was related to the insurgent group that calls itself Al Qaeda in Iraq and not Al Qaeda. These are two distinctly different groups according to U.S. intelligence services. The only known link between them (aside from the name) is purely ideological/theological.

I would think we all wish that Al Qaeda members were leaving the organization in droves, but unfortunately that is not true (also according to the most recently declassified NIE).

[Lucky Shot]

Al Qaeda is the Kleenex brand of Terrorists. This is essentially a franchise of them, as all Al Qaeda "cells" are loosly related. Regardless, their excessive violence is driving terrorists into informants.

Lucky Shot

[leejo]

BAGHDAD (AP) A spokesman for radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr says the suspension of Mahdi Army activities
means the militia will not launch attacks against U.S. and coalition forces.

A significant strategic change from Mookie's former "just as soon as you get your foot off my face I'm going to kick your ass" position. Progress!

[leejo]

http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/001517.html

A long good read.

[xTYBALTx]

More good news.