Foreign Terrorists (Iraq)
29 Nov. Washington Times - U.S. Decimating Foreign Fighters.
Quote:
The U.S. is seeing significantly fewer foreign fighters on the battlefields of Iraq, because the coalition has killed or captured scores of terrorists in recent months and is doing a better job of securing the long border with Syria.
But the U.S. military has noticed in recent weeks a willingness of young Iraqis to become suicide bombers, once the monopoly of ideologically driven foreign jihadists.
We are killing them, a senior Pentagon official said yesterday, when asked about shrinking foreign-fighter numbers in Iraq.
The trend is one reason that the Bush administration is talking more confidently about reducing the American troop presence next year to less than a base level of 138,000. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has said the current 160,000 level will revert to 138,000 after the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections.
Foreign Terrorists (Iraq)
9 Dec. Washington Times - Inside the Ring.
Quote:
Commanders are seeing fewer foreign fighters in Iraq, a sign that operations along the Syrian border are working. There also is the hope that al Qaeda leader Abu Musab Zarqawi is encountering difficulty in persuading new jihadists to come to Iraq.
..."In the Multi-National Force-West area of operations, we are facing a locally based Sunni-led insurgency. These local insurgents largely operate in and around their own communities and when not fighting, they blend into the local scene."
"Terrorists and foreign fighters associated with al Qaeda in Iraq are a factor in our area and al Qaeda gains additional synergy by developing marriages of convenience with local insurgency groups composed of the other elements of the insurgency — Saddamists, rejectionists, and criminals. The terrorist and foreign fighter presence in Al Anbar is small, but it's dangerous."
Terrorist Radicalization and Recruitment
Moderator's Note
This is a new thread, based on two old threads and re-titled. The term foreign fighters (FF) appears in numerous threads, there are two threads specifically on the theme and I understand during the peak of operations in Iraq (OIF) it was frequently raised - although I was unable to identify a specific thread. See Post 28 for details. Moderator ends.
From the Jamestown Foundation's Terrorism Focus: Reinforcing the Mujahideen: Origins of Jihadi Manpower
Quote:
Much is written about how non-indigenous, would-be Islamist fighters enter the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan to join the mujahideen fighting U.S.-led coalitions in both countries. Do they enter Afghanistan from Pakistan? Or Iran? Perhaps Central Asia? What about Iraq? Which border is the most porous? Does that dubious honor belong to Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan or Iran? These are, of course, important questions. To know and close the entry points of these aspiring mujahideen would slow the pace at which foreign fighters could join the fray. It also would make local insurgent field commanders unsure about the dependability of the flow of replacement fighters for their units, and thereby probably limit their willingness to undertake operations that are likely to result in sizeable manpower loses.
A more basic question, however, is seldom asked or debated. While it is clear that closing points of entry would give the U.S.-led coalitions a better chance to reduce the level of each insurgency, the more important path to victory probably lies in determining exactly from where these prospective insurgents emanate...
One key thing to remember
The US government has supported islamic jihadist in the past to keep Russian interests(the infidels lol) out of central asia-see Soviet Afghan war and Chechnya. Ten bucks says they will also be used to keep China out.
Al Qaeda means " the base" or to be more accurate " the database". Twenty bucks says it is a code word for a database of tracked islamic terrorists gathered by a CIA modified version of PROMIS software. When the CIA wants to jack someone up and keep their hands clean-just agitate their pool of jihadists.
Figuring Out the Foreign Fighter Factor in Iraq
2 July Stars and Stripes - Figuring Out the Foreign Fighter Factor in Iraq by Andrew Tilghman.
Quote:
Even on Iraq’s western edge, once referred to as the “foreign fighter freeway,” U.S. troops disagree about the role that foreigners play in the 3-year-old insurgency.
“Are there foreigners? Yes. Is it that big an influence overall? Probably not,” Lt. Col. Robert Jones, executive officer for Regimental Combat Team 7, said in a recent interview in his office at Camp Al Asad.
Meanwhile, just a few miles up the Euphrates River, a battalion commander disagrees. “They are the core,” said Lt. Col. Nick Marano, commander of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment based in the Al Qaim region
Both men are talking about the same region, and presumably have access to similar intelligence. But they come to different conclusions about the role of Arab fighters from countries like Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Algeria.
“The fact you are getting so many conflicting views on the ground just shows what a tangled web of violence this has become,” said Farhana Ali, a terrorism expert with the Rand Corp., a California-based think tank.
The question is especially relevant in recent weeks, as U.S. military officials scrambled to identify the insurgent leader who would likely take over after the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian-born leader of al-Qaida in Iraq...
Some troops say the foreign influence is based more on money than actual military-age men.
“The foreigner is like John Gotti, the foreign influence is money,” said Lt. Col. Norman Cooling, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, currently based in Haditha. Gotti is a New York crime boss who was convicted in 1992 of federal racketeering charges.
“If I could eliminate the foreign influence, it would have a big impact because the local guy in the street would lose his motivation,” Cooling said. “But there are not many foreigners out there operating in the streets. They don’t have to.”
It is also influenced by a range of political factors — both on the Iraqi and American side — that lead some officials to overestimate the significance of foreign fighters, said Anthony Cordesman, a national security expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies based in Washington, D.C...
Perspectives on foreign fighters
I think the difference has a lot to do with the fact that one sees them in transit and the other sees them after they have reached one of their objectives. The MNFI stats suggest that the foreign fighters are responsible for most of the attacks on non combatants which makes up about 70 percent of the casualties over the last year. I would say that is significant and good reason to focus on them.
Recommend Poole's Terrorist Trail
I recently read John Poole's Terrorist Trail, where this subject is a primary focus. All reviews that I've read and experiences in Iraq back up much of what he writes about where terrorists and global insurgents come from and how they get from point A to Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechyna, Pakistan, etc. While I'm not sure if Hezbollah has as strong an influence in as many places as he claims, the book's great nonetheless (plus I don't have anything to refute his claims).
Another Book Recommendation
Arab Volunteers Killed in Iraq
Although this report is obviously a little dated now, it's an interesting analysis of jihadist statements about the national origins of "martyrs" killed in Iraq, at least during a slice of 2005.
An Uphill Battle to Stop Fighters at Border
5 May Washington Post - An Uphill Battle to Stop Fighters at Border by Joshua Partlow.
Quote:
Iraqi general in charge of guarding the border with Syria said his forces cannot completely prevent suicide bombers, who often carry fake passports and appear well trained and funded, from slipping into Iraq.
"This borderline cannot be controlled 100 percent," said Maj. Gen. Hadi Taaha Hasoun al-Mamoori, commanding officer of the 2nd Region Department of Border Enforcement, responsible for 830 miles of border and a force of about 12,000 people. "If there was a desire on the part of the Syrians to help us, it would have been possible to wipe out a large segment of the terrorists."
The issue of foreign fighters entering Iraq has become an increasingly high priority for U.S. officials, many of whom consider Syria a primary stopover for insurgents making their way from other Middle Eastern countries to Iraq...