Bin Laden calls for attacks on Shiites

[.Shane.]

Source

I'm real curious to see if we can actually discuss this w/out everyone jumping to their fetal defensive positions.

In fact, I dare anyone replying to this thread to do so and NOT use any of the following words or phrases: liberal, conservative, neocon, fascist, puppet. Basically, I want to see if people can even try to discuss this interesting development w/out stereotyping and insulting their fellow forum goers.

lol, we'll see.

Anyway, I think this is a pretty interesting development.

My take is that its a sign that, regardless of how good/bad we think things may be in Iraq ATM, that Al Qaeda believes they're improving (improving from a US perspective).

This really smacks me as an act of desperation on the part of Bin Laden.

 

[usarmy18]

It is an act of desperation and an a cry for attention, in my opinion.

I think it's an act of desperation because we've really dismantled Al-Qaeda in the past few years, both in Iraq and in Afghanistan/Pakistan, and the latest offensive in Afghanistan, Operation Mountain Thrust, seems to be a resounding success as well. Last time I had read anything about Al-Qaeda in Iraq, before Zarqawi was killed, the military believed they had killed or captured 70 of the 75 top members of that organization. Not only that, but it seems that alot of the Sunni Insurgency groups are coming forward to negotiate joining the government from Al-Maliki's Reconciliation plan. So he knows that the only way he's going to stop this, is by creating more tension and violence between Sunni's and Shia's, which I believe that either Al-Qaeda in Iraq, or another terrorist group affiliated with them, were responsible for the car bombing in Sadr City today, that killed 66 people. Otherwise everything is lost for them in Iraq.

Why I think it's a cry for attention? Who listens to Bin Laden anymore? There for awhile, Zarqawi had replaced Bin Laden as the Hadji's holy warrior and the face of their organization to alot of people. Now Zarqawi is gone and Bin Laden wants to be back in the spotlight.

 

[.Shane.]

I think it's an act of desperation because we've really dismantled Al-Qaeda in the past few years, both in Iraq and in Afghanistan/Pakistan, and the latest offensive in Afghanistan, Operation Mountain Thrust, seems to be a resounding success as well. Last time I had read anything about Al-Qaeda in Iraq, before Zarqawi was killed, the military believed they had killed or captured 70 of the 75 top members of that organization. Not only that, but it seems that alot of the Sunni Insurgency groups are coming forward to negotiate joining the government from Al-Maliki's Reconciliation plan.

In the (probably vain) interest of keeping the thread non-partisan, can you provide some neutral links to support this? If not, posters should make it clear that what they're posting is either supposition or acknowledge they can't recall the source.

 

[usarmy18]

Here's some links for the Reconciliation Plan.

http://iraqthemodel.blogspot.com/ (the latest entrys deal with the Reconciliation plan and Operation Forward Together)

It's a blog but it's just from two brothers in Baghdad that mostly talk about government plans and such. They have links to Iraqi Newspapers but I don't read Arabic.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,201491,00.html

Insurgent and government officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday that 11 Sunni militant groups had offered an immediate halt to all attacks — including those on American troops — if the United States agreed to withdraw foreign forces from Iraq in two years.

I really can't recall the source for alot of what I previously posted because I either watched it on TV or got it off several sites that I can't post links to here or I'm banned. Some of it is just my opinion on things to from my knowledge of armed conflicts (I'm a major history buff).