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It seems Saddam was a little cleverer than we gave him credit for. This tidbit in the World Tribune indicates that he set up terrorist cells well ahead of time.
Insurgents captured in Fallujah have told Iraqi military interrogators that most of those fighting in Fallujah were former security officers for the regime of Saddam Hussein.The insurgents said Saddam organized special operations units, starting in 2001, to counter any foreign invasion in Iraq. Most of those units, the insurgents said, are still active in the Sunni Triangle.
Officials said the Sunni insurgency was being directed from Syria. They said Saddam loyalists were receiving funding and orders from senior aides of the former Saddam regime based in Damascus, including ex-Vice President Izzet Ibrahim Al Douri.
[…]
"The battle for Fallujah has become the test for Saddam loyalists," an Iraqi official said. "Fallujah was the center of the terrorism and the symbol of the terrorists."
[…]
Officials said the Iraqi resistance appears to have changed tactics and no longer seeks a head-on clash with the U.S. military for the control of major cities. Instead, Saddam loyalists and foreign volunteers have launched attacks on police stations and other facilities meant to intimidate security forces and seize weapons and material.
"This ultimately is not going to be won in the kinetic sense — in battle," U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker, told the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday. "It's going to be won in having Iraqis taking ownership and investing their own personal sweat and blood." Iraq's interim government has been bracing for an insurgency throughout the Sunni Triangle.
I think this later part is as true as can be. We cannot win this for the Iraqi’s. Ultimately, they’re going to have to take on the burden themselves. I know I’ve worried about their hunger for true freedom before. I’m not done worrying.
Our marvelous troops have done a magnificent job in Fallujah. Now the test will come for the ING. Can the keep Fallujah clean?
On that, we are going to have to wait and see.
Posted by Ted at November 19, 2004 7:51 PM