U.S. Forces Pressure Terrorists With CLC Citizens And Iraqi Troops
Al-Qaida is trying very stridently to get itself re established in the areas around Baghdad, and in the north, according to sources in senior U.S. Military leadership.
There is only one problem for them. NO vacancy.
A triple threat consisting of Iraqi Security Forces, Coalition and U.S. Forces, and citizen CLC groups are finding, reporting, and driving out insurgents and Al-Qaida members wherever they are to be found. With the increase of positive relationships, people in the Iraqi community are trusting soldiers more, and Al-Qaida not at all.
Citizens have proven over and over again their willingness to reveal Al-Qaida as soon as they are aware any are in the area. This has been a marked change over what has taken place previously. Just a year ago information from the local population was next to none, and there were strongholds in the area outside Baghdad where attacks were launched outward. Some of these attacks resulted in death to Coalition forces from IED and explosives.
We have hung out the Not Welcome sign, and we are working to make it stick, said Army Major General Kevin J. Bergmer. General Bergmer is one of the spokesmen for MNF-Iraq.
We will continue to harass, follow, and pursue the enemy and do whatever it takes to prevent them from creating new bases, or from re establishing themselves, stated General Bergmer.
There are about seventy thousand members of the Iraqi Concerned Citizens Groups, and these brave citizen soldiers have proven themselves on an increasingly frequent basis over the last few months.
You make a very interesting argument, as far as it goes. But there are other considerations. First, the history of the last 10 years sends the whole world the clear message that countries lacking nuclear weapons will not get respect, and Iran very much wants respect. If you knew the history of Russian, British, and after 1953 American mistreatment of Iran (perhaps you recall the US navy’s shooting down of an Iranian airliner), you would understand how they feel. Second, Israel dominates the Mideast militarily, breaking all the rules other nations are expected to adhere to, because it follows the policy of strategic ambiguity – “don’t ask, don’t tell” for countries. Iran seems to be working its way toward an equivalent policy. That is, as long as Iran’s enemies have nukes and yet are accepted in regional affairs, Iran is not going to renounce the potential for getting nukes and tolerate being marginalized. Indeed, it probably will not even accept full participation in Mideast affairs in return for giving up all technical capacity at this point. The advantages Israel gains from strategic ambiguity are all too obvious. In fact, Iran has renounced nuclear arms as a legitimate goal, but it does appear to desire either a sincere accommodation (which would no doubt include ending Israel’s rogue status) or strategic ambiguity, which at a minimum would mean the ability to weaponize overnight. Room for compromise exists, but bullying Iran is not the way to get there.