Quote:
Originally posted by bryanthompson
The terrorists we are fighting in Iraq are not Iraqis. They are largely made up of militants from the surrounding region.
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This is a talking point, and an old, tired one.
I hope Mul is reading this answer too - I previously couldn't be bothered, but you both insist on continuing to be wrong, so I guess I can be bothered now. The people you are fighting in Iraq - not all of whom are terrorists, are mostly Iraqis. The largest group are former Baathists. Some, but not that many, come from outside Iraq.
Proof?
Its from Time, so discredit all you like, but this was the last thing I read (however, I read this sort of thing about 1x per week):
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1106307,00.html
Quote:
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More than two years into the war, U.S. intelligence sources concede that they still don't know enough about the nearly impenetrable web of what Iraqis call ahl al-thiqa (trust networks), which are at the heart of the insurgency. It's an inchoate movement without a single inspirational leader like Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh--a movement whose primary goal is perhaps even more improbable than the U.S. dream of creating an Iraqi democracy: restoring Sunni control in a country where Sunnis represent just 20% of the population. Intelligence experts can't credibly estimate the rebels' numbers but say most are Iraqis. Foreigners account for perhaps 2% of the suspected guerrillas who have been captured or killed, although they represent the vast majority of suicide bombers. ("They are ordnance," a U.S. intelligence official says.) The level of violence has been growing steadily. There have been roughly 80 attacks a day in recent weeks. Suicide bombs killed more than 200 people, mostly in Baghdad, during four days of carnage last week, among the deadliest since Saddam's fall.
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