In Iraq, U.S. spotlights al-Qaida

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.onelocalnews.com/chandlernews-dispatch/stories/index.php?action=fullnews&id=120552

By CHARLES J. HANLEY, AP Special Correspondent 9 minutes ago

BAGHDAD - Inside the bloody kaleidoscope called Iraq , the list of enemies and allies is long, shifting and motley, running from "revolution brigades" and Baathists, to Salafists, secularists and suicidal zealots. But one group alone gets routinely tagged "Public Enemy No. 1" by the Americans.

Nine out of 10 times, when it names a foe it faces, the U.S. military names the group called al-Qaida in Iraq. President Bush says Iraq may become an al-Qaida base to "launch new attacks on America." The U.S. ambassador here suggested this week al-Qaida might "assume real power" in Iraq if U.S. forces withdraw.

"Such speculation is unrealistic," Amer Hassan al-Fayadh, Baghdad University political science dean, said of the U.S. statements.

"The people who are fighting al-Qaida in Iraq are the Sunnis themselves," he noted.

Since Iraqis rose up against the U.S. occupation in 2003, the insurgency has spawned a long roster of militant groups — the 1920 Revolution Brigades, Islamic Army in Iraq, Ansar al-Sunnah, Mujahedeen Army, the Mahdi Army, among others — drawing on loyalists of the ousted, Sunni-dominated Baathist regime, other nationalists, Islamists, tribal groups and militant Shiites.

Despite this proliferation of enemies, the U.S. command‘s news releases on American operations focus overwhelmingly on al-Qaida.

[libodem]

1. I think the US just made up Al Qaeda

because The Government lies about everything else. They are still trying to foist on us this notion of 9/11 being related to our need to fight in Iraq. I remember reading one American soldier's account of fighting in Faluja. He said they were instructed to form any link they could with foreign fighters. The enemy combatants were 99% Iraqi Nationals. They were using tags on clothing as reasonable proof, if they were manufactured in another country. This is a desperate situation all built on lies. My personal belief is that Al Qaeda didn't exist until some White House mastermind invented them. So everytime they say AlQaeda in Iraq I think oh, yeah, right a spook troop of imaginary political creations to keep us SCARED at home. Please, Dear God, in Heaven, rescue us from George W Bush and his fantasy world of enemies. I don't believe one word of anything he says. In fact, and this goes for all the right-wing media pundits, I reverse the message, or think the opposite, and figure, I'm getting closer to the truth. Bush only wishes and hopes Iraq would be full of foreign fighters. Last week it was Iran. God, what liars. Somebody get them under oath, where they could be committing perjury and have some consequences. This is so unhealthy for my Beautiful Mind. I tell you I'm losin' it here. Bless you DU, I know I dump on you with ranting and raving and I have cynicism and sarcasm sickness, but you are here for me as keyboard therapy. I'd need big ol' doses of Saraquil by now if it weren't for you.:loveya: :grouphug:

[leftchick]

2. very interesting article....

It is good to see someone finally address this bullshit...

<snip>

n addition, in a year-to-year comparison, the number of U.S. military releases mentioning al-Qaida almost doubled, from 161 in 2005-2006 to 306 in 2006-2007. Even accounting for an increased number of command reports overall, the al-Qaida releases rose by 40 percent.

"There‘s a great deal of focus on al-Qaida because they‘re Public Enemy No. 1. Simple as that," said command spokesman Col. Steven Boylan.

Back in the U.S., some see more manipulative motives.

The University of Michigan‘s Juan Cole questions how strong the links are between international al-Qaida and the local Iraqi variety, which he describes as Salafists — fundamentalist Sunnis — "who style themselves al-Qaida."

<snip>

"They‘ll just say al-Qaida," Venzke said of the U.S. command, "and the media frequently simplify it to that level because they think nobody thinks there are other groups."