5 January 2005

Iraq's insurgency counts more than 200,000 active fighters and sympathisers

According to the country's national intelligence chief.
"I think the resistance is bigger than the US military in Iraq. I think the resistance is more than 200,000 people," Iraqi intelligence service director General Mohamed Abdullah Shahwani said in an interview ahead of the January 30 elections.

Shahwani said the number includes at least 40,000 hardcore fighters but rises to more than 200,000 members counting part-time fighters and volunteers who provide rebels everything from intelligence and logistics to shelter.

The numbers far exceed any figure presented by the US military in Iraq, which has struggled to get a handle on the size of the resistance since toppling Saddam Hussein's regime in April 2003.



posted by Naum at 15:15 | World

Comments

I had hopes things would get better in Iraq. I still do. I pray that the darkness will end for those poor people soon. Soon after we claimed the major fighting was over, armed fighters began pouring into Iraq from it borders, I remember seeing them on the news way back whenever. I don’t doubt there are a HUGE number of Anti-US fighters in Iraq.
The main problem with "liberating" nations and "building" democracies, is just like when you buy your kid his/her first car, they treat that car like crap, because they didn’t have any true "investment" in it. If they work for the money to buy the car, fill the tank, get the tags, and pay the insurance, they are almost always more conservative towards their property.

We gained our independence through blood and sacrifice, Iraq, has suffered, and some have fought for their freedom, but not as we did when we whooped the Brits (twice) in history. We gained our freedom, with help from France, and others. But the greatest investment was ours, until the IRAQIS are willing to invest their own energies blood and lives to their own freedom (perhaps that is what the insurgents are doing against us?) they will not have a free country.
I think what we did was right. I think that just because you do the right thing that everything will not always go the way you want it, or that all the right things will be done. I think we went about it in the only way we could have and toppled Sadam. Now however there are mistakes being made and lives are being lost, I wish we could be more like Israel and GET the people we set out to GET with greater accuracy. Perhaps we should hand Iraq over to Israel???? Wouldn't that go over big? (And by the way, I am not so stupid as to think we COULD hand Israel IRAQ, but I bet they could get things done allot better than we have.)

May peace come to all and salvation be found by those who are lost. GOD BLESS.
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