[antimedia] antimedia: You haven't forgotten....

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Posted by antimedia:
You haven't forgotten....
http://www.antimedia.us/posts/1202788956.shtml


   ....about Iraq, have you? It sure seems that the media has. Otherwise
   [1]this news would be on the front page and leading the tv news.

     U.S. troops found a diary belonging to an al Qaida in Iraq leader
     that has Coalition forces believing the terrorist organization is
     âon its heels,â a senior military official in Baghdad said
     yesterday. Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Divisionâs 1st Brigade
     Combat Team captured a diary Nov. 3, 2007, belonging to Abu Tariq,
     an al Qaida emir in control of five battalions within two sectors,
     U.S. Air Force Col. Donald J. Bacon, a Multi-National Force - Iraq
     spokesman, told online journalists and âbloggersâ during a
     conference call.
     [2]View Translated Diary (PDF)
     The Soldiers found the diary during a patrol conducted about 15
     kilometers south of Balad. Bacon said the 16-page diary contains
     records about man power, operations, weapons, and finances, and it
     shows that al Qaida is hurting badly in the belts of Baghdad.
     âThere were 600 al-Qaida members in this sector, now there (are) 20
     or less,â said Bacon.
     In the diary, Tariq describes each battalionâs number decline and
     goes on to describe the 4th battalion as âscoundrels, sectarians
     and nonbelievers.â Tariq attributes his terrorist organizationâs
     decline in large part to groups of Concerned Local Citizens (CLC),
     who are also known as the âSons of Iraqâ.
     Many high-ranking al Qaida members, including Osama Bin Laden, have
     spoken out about the negative impact that the CLC groups have had
     on their organization. As a result, the CLC are being attacked more
     frequently by the terrorists, Bacon said.

   Bacon doesn't cheerlead, going on to describe Al Qaeda in Iraq as
   still dangerous, with the "capacity and will" to do damage.
   Major Pain [3]reports that Al Qaeda in Iraq is defeated and recruiting
   and funding is suffering deeply.

     The number of foreign volunteers entering via Syria or Saudi Arabia
     are way down. Not just because borders are harder to cross, but
     because fewer young men are willing to cross them to die in Iraq .
     Less cash is coming in from wealthy Islamic conservatives. These
     fellows are very much put off by the widespread slaughter of
     civilians."

   Al Qaeda has never been about Islam. It's about power, ruthless,
   merciless power. Any dummy can figure that out (which excludes most
   liberals and all the anti-war bozos.)
   Things aren't going so well for Al Qaeda [4]in other places either.

     A GIMF communiqué posted January 1, 2008 on the Islamist website
     www.ekhlaas.info (hosted by Piradius.net in Malaysia[1] ) reveals a
     rift between Somalia's two major jihad groups.
     The communiqué, signed by Abu Mansour Al-Amriki - an American who
     provides military training for mujahideen in Somalia - states that
     Harakat Shabab Al-Mujahideen (the Movement of Jihadi Youth - MJY),
     which is currently the most active jihad group in Somalia, has
     severed ties with the Islamic Courts Union (ICU).
     The two groups had initially joined forces to fight Ethiopian
     troops in Mogadishu, but later fell into a dispute over the
     September 2007 Asmara Conference, a summit under the aegis of the
     Eritrean government that was aimed at reconciling the various
     Somali opposition groups. While the ICU participated in the
     conference, the MJY boycotted it, saying that it was "doomed to
     fail" because it brought together "desperate [elements] with
     conflicting agendas" - that is, Islamists and secular nationalists
     - and that it promoted a "new and counterproductive culture and
     [Western] concepts like moderate[ness], retreat, compromise." [2]

   Funny thing about that long-dreamed-of caliphate. Seems a lot of folks
   don't want to be a part of it.
   Tags: [5]Al Qaeda [6]Iraq [7]losing [8]defeated

References

   1. http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16935&Itemid=128
   2. http://www.mnf-iraq.com/View%20Translated%20Diary%20(PDF)
   3. http://www.onemarinesview.com/one_marines_view/2008/02/the-other-bad-g.html
   4. http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD183808
   5. http://technorati.com/tag/Al%20Qaeda
   6. http://technorati.com/tag/Iraq
   7. http://technorati.com/tag/losing
   8. http://technorati.com/tag/defeated