US Arming Sunni insurgents

[EmpressStarXVII]

I looked back a couple of pages to see if this has already been posted, If I missed it, sorry!

US arms Sunni dissidents in risky bid to contain al-Qaida fighters in Iraq

· Guns and equipment already handed over

· Insurgents promise not to attack Americans

Ewen MacAskill in Washington

Tuesday June 12, 2007

The Guardian

The US military has embarked on a new and risky strategy in Iraq by arming Sunni insurgents in the hope that they will tackle the extremist al-Qaida in Iraq.

The US high command this month gave permission to its officers on the ground to negotiate arms deals with local leaders. Arms, ammunition, body armour and other equipment, as well as cash, pick-up trucks and fuel, have already been handed over in return for promises to turn on al-Qaida and not attack US troops.

The US military in Baghdad is trying to portray the move as arming disenchanted Sunnis who are rising up in their neighbourhoods against their former allies, al-Qaida and its foreign fighters. But the reality on the ground is more complex, with little sign that the US will be able to control the weapons once they are handed over. The danger is that the insurgents could use these weapons against American troops or in the civil conflict against Shia Muslims. Similar efforts by the US in other wars have backfired, the most spectacular being the arming of guerrillas against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.

Major General Rick Lynch, a senior US commander in Iraq, insisted no weapons would be given to insurgents who had attacked Americans. "We have not crossed that line," he said.

The US said it would use fingerprinting, retinal scans and other tests to establish whether insurgents had been involved in fighting against American troops.

But a reliable witness to a meeting this month between US forces and insurgents in the Sunni stronghold of Amadiya, in Baghdad, expressed scepticism about the strategy. Far from being a popular uprising against al-Qaida, only a handful of armed men turned up. The US handed over ammunition to them. The witness said that US soldiers watching the handover were dismissive, seeing it as a stunt.

The strategy was discussed in Baghdad this month between the new US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and his field commanders. They decided to leave it to each commander to decide locally.

The Pentagon insisted the latest strategy was not recognition that president George Bush's "surge" policy had failed. All of the extra 30,000 US troops ordered by Mr Bush in January to Baghdad and Anbar province, one of the centres of the violence, had only just been fully deployed and it was too early to judge it.

Initial successes of the surge in pacifying parts of Baghdad have now been reversed, with the death toll among US troops and Iraqi civilians last month among the highest since the 2003 invasion.

The US military first tested the strategy of arming its former enemies in Anbar province. Anbar is now relatively quiet, but that could be because the US has flooded the province with US troops.

The Anbar model is being extended to Amariya, as well as Diyala and Salahuddin provinces.

The US insists that the Sunni disenchantment with al-Qaida is because of the group's suicide bombings that have resulted in the deaths of thousands of Iraqi civilians.

The arming of the Sunni insurgents reflects US unhappiness with the slow progress of the Iraqi army, which it suspects of being too close to the Shia militias, and with the police, which is even more riddled with sectarianism. At a press conference, Gen Lynch said he was concerned about corruption within Iraq's police force and by interference from the national government in security issues, particularly in the release of suspected insurgents held by Iraqi security forces.

Source and full article here.

[Spurious George]

I just brought this up in the 'Screwing the Surge' thread. Here's another article....

How will arming Sunnis help in Iraq?

The United States has taken yet another step entangling itself deeper in the complex, multisided civil war in Iraq.

Iraq, as anyone who follows the news knows, is awash in arms. Yet the U.S. military has now authorized officers in Iraq to negotiate deals to provide Sunni militias with arms.

This is the first step the United States has taken toward arming Sunnis, the minority population that ruled Iraq under Saddam Hussein and has been the main insurgent group since the March 2003 U.S. invasion. The United States continues to prop up the current Shiite-dominated government led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in a country that is about 65 percent Shiite Arab, 20 percent Kurd and 15 percent Sunni Arab.

This latest U.S. step is a stark reminder of mistakes made since the March 2003 invasion. As coalition troops swept toward Baghdad, munitions storage sites were left unsecured. Soon looted explosives, rocket-propelled grenades, heavy bombs and guns spread throughout the country. These have caused about half of all U.S. combat fatalities and casualties in Iraq and contributed to increasing instability, the General Accountability Office told Congress on March 22.

Now we expect to improve the situation by putting more arms into the country?

Continues - http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/...al/17368349.htm

Big mistake in my opinion.

[EmpressStarXVII]

Sometimes I feel like I've stepped into the twilight zone when I hear about Iraq in the news. What kind of foot-in-mouth move is this? And we're told the surge is working...pft. I do not understand why Bush didn't just get it over with and add on an extra 50,000 troops to add to the surge. Surly, we aren't desperate enough to put our own weapons in insurgent hands? *shakes head*

[Moon Monkey]

What can possibly go wrong with this plan ?

[KingTomis]

Well Sunni tribes are sick and tired of AQIZ tractor-trailer bombs that level entire neighborhoods everytime of of thier sheiks does something to p*** them off. They may not like us, but they hate and fear AQIZ.

Either way though it's just a temporary fix and nothing good can really come of it. Bring in cats to kill all the rats, bring in dogs to kill the cats, bring in lions to kill the dogs.....

One thing that can benefit from this is that it going to be seen by Iraqi's that we are helping Iraqi's protect themselves. Iraqi's see that we are helping the population to ensure thier own security and that they can be a part of helping to progress towards a stable, functioning govt.

Not that I think it will actually work.

[Essene]

This now is a religious war with the Shiites getting revenge for the years of torment by Saddam whom was a Sunni and the Sunni population benefited majorly when he was in power. Unless they all take a chill pill the whole region will be in war with each side battling each other till most have died. This is not a regular war, its a religious war in which really its all about power and money for the sect that wins. The looser may suffer greatly as did the Shiites under Saddam. It don't look good, once the US leaves all hell is going to break out.

Well Sunni tribes are sick and tired of AQIZ tractor-trailer bombs that level entire neighborhoods everytime of of thier sheiks does something to p*** them off. They may not like us, but they hate and fear AQIZ.

Either way though it's just a temporary fix and nothing good can really come of it. Bring in cats to kill all the rats, bring in dogs to kill the cats, bring in lions to kill the dogs.....

One thing that can benefit from this is that it going to be seen by Iraqi's that we are helping Iraqi's protect themselves. Iraqi's see that we are helping the population to ensure thier own security and that they can be a part of helping to progress towards a stable, functioning govt.

Not that I think it will actually work.

[Lt_Ripley]

yep . arm them to throw out the 10% or so that is al-qeada then they will turn and aim for Shiites and Americans.

sounds like a plan. !

[ships-cat]

yep . arm them to throw out the 10% or so that is al-qeada then they will turn and aim for Shiites and Americans.

sounds like a plan. !

Stop being so negative all the time. The US armed the Mujahadeen in their struggle against the Soviet Union, and that turned out... err... no wait... bugger.

Meow Purr.

[SeaMare]

I was trying to come up with something really witty - but, as everybody else already pointed out, it's just an incredibly stupid idea. I wonder if the US (and others of course) will ever realize that doing business with "the bad guys" to fight "even worse guys" DOES NOT WORK in the long run.

[Essene]

Well, the fight for Bagdad is on. Trust me, these guys are doing their best to root out these cowardly killers who kill women and children intentionaly. I sure hope they do get these fanatics and maybe real peace will come to Iraq.

I was trying to come up with something really witty - but, as everybody else already pointed out, it's just an incredibly stupid idea. I wonder if the US (and others of course) will ever realize that doing business with "the bad guys" to fight "even worse guys" DOES NOT WORK in the long run.