The hardline US approach has served to bring the many Arab tribes in Iraq together. Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawar, who is himself a tribal chief from the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, is a fierce critic of the Fallujah operation.
...The US operation on Fallujah includes Battalion 36, an elite fighting force of Kurds and the Badr Brigade (former exiled Shi'ite group in Iran) , as well as combatants from Iraqi exile groups trained by the US Central Intelligence Agency in Hungary before the war. They are considered "alien", and their participation beside US forces will not only provoke local tribal sentiment, but also have an impact on countries such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Syria, and attract support for the resistance, though from the grassroots level.
... According to Saudi Arabia-based Arab News, 21 prominent Saudi religious scholars have signed an open statement to the Iraqi people legitimizing their resistance and forbidding any cooperation or dealings with the occupying US forces.
The scholars stressed the importance of a unified Iraq, asking Iraqis to forsake personal, regional or tribal interests to ensure that justice is served among all.
...Significantly, scholars such as Salman and al-Hawali were once supporters of Osama bin Laden, but after September 11, 2001, they denounced al-Qaeda and restored ties with Crown Prince Abdullah, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler. The statement therefore sheds some light on the undercurrents in Saudi society, where large segments support the Iraqi resistance movement.
A similar statement in favor of the Iraqi resistance was in the offing in Pakistan, but the Pakistani intelligence community intervened and prevented it from being released for fear of widespread anti-US demonstrations.
...Asia Times Online has learned from sources in Saudi Arabia that as many as 10,000 Saudi youths might be in or going to Iraq. And with the strong presence of organizations such as Hezbollah, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad in such countries as Syria and Jordan, it can be safely estimated that jihadis from these countries are also flooding into Iraq, or are preparing to do so.
Asia Times article...The US operation on Fallujah includes Battalion 36, an elite fighting force of Kurds and the Badr Brigade (former exiled Shi'ite group in Iran) , as well as combatants from Iraqi exile groups trained by the US Central Intelligence Agency in Hungary before the war. They are considered "alien", and their participation beside US forces will not only provoke local tribal sentiment, but also have an impact on countries such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Syria, and attract support for the resistance, though from the grassroots level.
... According to Saudi Arabia-based Arab News, 21 prominent Saudi religious scholars have signed an open statement to the Iraqi people legitimizing their resistance and forbidding any cooperation or dealings with the occupying US forces.
The scholars stressed the importance of a unified Iraq, asking Iraqis to forsake personal, regional or tribal interests to ensure that justice is served among all.
...Significantly, scholars such as Salman and al-Hawali were once supporters of Osama bin Laden, but after September 11, 2001, they denounced al-Qaeda and restored ties with Crown Prince Abdullah, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler. The statement therefore sheds some light on the undercurrents in Saudi society, where large segments support the Iraqi resistance movement.
A similar statement in favor of the Iraqi resistance was in the offing in Pakistan, but the Pakistani intelligence community intervened and prevented it from being released for fear of widespread anti-US demonstrations.
...Asia Times Online has learned from sources in Saudi Arabia that as many as 10,000 Saudi youths might be in or going to Iraq. And with the strong presence of organizations such as Hezbollah, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad in such countries as Syria and Jordan, it can be safely estimated that jihadis from these countries are also flooding into Iraq, or are preparing to do so.
He may get his Armageddon yet.
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