nuttie
02-18-2004, 02:47 AM
Iraq: Tag-Team Terror
Amir Taheri in the New York Post, February 17, 2004
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They are known as "Arab Afghans" and have been at the forefront of terrorist wars in more than a dozen countries for almost a quarter of century. They fought in Afghanistan in the 1980s, and in the 1990s waged merciless wars in Egypt and Algeria. They made their European debut in ex-Yugoslavia and are still active in Chechnya.
Since last spring, however, the "Arab Afghans" have found a new battlefield: Iraq. It is there that they mean to make their last stand against a world they regard as "satanic."
The term "Arab Afghans" was coined in the 1980s to describe Arab "volunteers for martyrdom" who went to Afghanistan to fight the Red Army. Most came from well-to-do families, especially from the Gulf states, but others joined from Pakistan, Indonesia, Turkey and, later, the ex-Yugoslav republics. In the year 2000, most Western and Arab intelligence services estimated the number of "Arab Afghans" at around 20,000, mostly active in Algeria and Chechnya. The question now: How many have infiltrated Iraq?
It was almost 10 months ago that the first terror attacks shook the newly liberated country. We know that many elements of the fallen regime, in alliance with Mafia-style groups that had benefited under Saddam Hussein, were behind these early incidents.
The weapons and explosives used in those attacks came mostly from looted stocks of the disbanded Iraqi army. Some operations, including those against the late Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir Hakim and the U.N. office in Baghdad, bore the imprints of the fallen regime's Mukhaberat (intelligence) services.
Yet with the capture of almost all prominent Ba'athists, including Saddam himself, the "conventional" terror campaign launched last May appears to have been brought under control. The Coalition authorities and the Governing Council have also succeeded in draining part of the Ba'athist support base by including more Sunni tribes and personalities in national politics.
Since August, however, Iraq has seen two other types of terrorist operations.
The first bears the imprint of small and isolated bands looking for targets of opportunity. In some cases, the aim is revenge; in others, to send a message to one particular group, family, tribe or party. As always with this form of terrorism, it is hard to distinguish between purely personal and mainly political motives.
-snip-
For the full article, LINK HERE (http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/18074.htm)
Amir Taheri in the New York Post, February 17, 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They are known as "Arab Afghans" and have been at the forefront of terrorist wars in more than a dozen countries for almost a quarter of century. They fought in Afghanistan in the 1980s, and in the 1990s waged merciless wars in Egypt and Algeria. They made their European debut in ex-Yugoslavia and are still active in Chechnya.
Since last spring, however, the "Arab Afghans" have found a new battlefield: Iraq. It is there that they mean to make their last stand against a world they regard as "satanic."
The term "Arab Afghans" was coined in the 1980s to describe Arab "volunteers for martyrdom" who went to Afghanistan to fight the Red Army. Most came from well-to-do families, especially from the Gulf states, but others joined from Pakistan, Indonesia, Turkey and, later, the ex-Yugoslav republics. In the year 2000, most Western and Arab intelligence services estimated the number of "Arab Afghans" at around 20,000, mostly active in Algeria and Chechnya. The question now: How many have infiltrated Iraq?
It was almost 10 months ago that the first terror attacks shook the newly liberated country. We know that many elements of the fallen regime, in alliance with Mafia-style groups that had benefited under Saddam Hussein, were behind these early incidents.
The weapons and explosives used in those attacks came mostly from looted stocks of the disbanded Iraqi army. Some operations, including those against the late Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir Hakim and the U.N. office in Baghdad, bore the imprints of the fallen regime's Mukhaberat (intelligence) services.
Yet with the capture of almost all prominent Ba'athists, including Saddam himself, the "conventional" terror campaign launched last May appears to have been brought under control. The Coalition authorities and the Governing Council have also succeeded in draining part of the Ba'athist support base by including more Sunni tribes and personalities in national politics.
Since August, however, Iraq has seen two other types of terrorist operations.
The first bears the imprint of small and isolated bands looking for targets of opportunity. In some cases, the aim is revenge; in others, to send a message to one particular group, family, tribe or party. As always with this form of terrorism, it is hard to distinguish between purely personal and mainly political motives.
-snip-
For the full article, LINK HERE (http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/18074.htm)