Al Qaeda in Iraq
CNN appears to have gotten their hands on a bunch of papers from al Queda in Iraq detailing the command structure and operations from mid to end 2006. It is a very interesting read because it shows that there really was a central structure for the insurgency in the Sunni areas in Iraq. It is also interesting because it shows that there is a real enemy to be fought there, and not just a conglomeration of independent groups. It gives some hope that they might be able to straighten things out some day. I think the most interesting item for me was their internal awareness that the tide had turned against them, long before the US ever figured that out.
It is also worth noting that much of the al Queda in Iraq violence has died down now, but there are plenty of other groups out there. I have to wonder now though if they aren’t similarly run, giving some chance that they could be stopped one day as well.
June 15th, 2008 at 12:18
I’m sketpical of that report. I’m certain that it’s been filtered through US government spokesmen, and it’s probably at least a bit inaccurate. For instance, I really doubt that anyone in AQI has the title “prince.” What those papers probably use is the title “emir,” which sometimes gets translated into English as prince, but doesn’t mean that..”leader” or “chief” is a better translation, and they use it later on.
The other groups that have, on occasion, fought Coalition forces, are also probably not as hierarchically organized as AQI was and is-with the exception of Muqtada al-Sadr’s group.
Breaking down the hierarchy may not be the most desirable thing, though-it can leave atomized grops that are harder to track down.
In the long run, attacking the groups, while necessary, is treating a symptom, not a disease, We need to deal with the conditions that make them emerge and grow.
<a href=”http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/”John Robb will probably have something interesting about these papers up at some point in the next week or so.