CNN: New assessment of 12,000 insurgents shows resistance growing

[Tesibria]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/10/22/iraq.main/index.html

About $500 million in unaccounted funds from Saddam Hussein's former regime is being used to finance a growing insurgency in Iraq, a U.S. military intelligence official said Friday.

The official said that, and other key findings, are contained in an updated military intelligence assessment of the Iraq insurgency.

The top finding is that the United States believes about a half-billion dollars that once belonged to the former Iraqi government, along with funds from individuals and religious groups in Saudi Arabia, is being funneled through Syria and used to fund insurgents.

The official said other findings included:

The absence of any unifying elements between 50 widely dispersed cells around the country.

Evidence that criminals, as opposed to terrorists with an overt political motivation, have conducted about 80 percent of the recent attacks.

Evidence that elements of the Baath Party are active "and even coming together in their efforts to regain control, disrupt organized government and to fund insurgent activities."

An indication that capturing or killing Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi would stop or slow insurgent activity significantly.

...more ...

[VegasWolf]

1. Wonder if this was a poll of LIKELY TERRORISTS?

Cheney to *, "Sir the American insurgents ( err, democrats ) are rioting!"
* to Cheney, "Good God, what are we going do?"
Cheney to *, "Don't know about you, but I'm getting back to Halliburton."

New Information Shows Bush Indecisive, Paranoid, Delusional

[Alleycat]

2. No can't be

I thought we turned the corner, Oh wait that's the economy, no the DOW was down huge today, what corner was that?

The corner back to TX hopefully

[acmavm]

3. Just chalk up another failure to bush*s record. Two acutally, if you count

Afganistan.

[MrMonk]

4. and from the New York Times . . .

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/22/international/middleeast/22insurgents.html?hp&ex=1098504000&en=e40ae916b3f0b5bd&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Estimates by U.S. See More Rebels With More Funds

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Oct. 21 - Senior American officials are beginning to assemble a new portrait of the insurgency that has continued to inflict casualties on American and Iraqi forces, showing that it has significantly more fighters and far greater financial resources than had been estimated.

<snip>the hard-core resistance numbers between 8,000 and 12,000 people, a tally that swells to more than 20,000 when active sympathizers or covert accomplices are included, according to the American officials.

These estimates contrast sharply with earlier intelligence reports, in which the number of insurgents has varied from as few as 2,000 to a maximum of 7,000. </snip>

<snip>Their financing is supplemented in great part by wealthy Saudi donors and Islamic charities that funnel large sums of cash through Syria, according to these officials, who have access to detailed intelligence reports.</snip>

Freedom is on the march!

[billyoc]

5. With unlimited funds? The insurgent *officer corps*

would be 12,000.

[Nicholas_J]

6. Pretty much an indication that Bush has flubbed the entire war on terror.

If these people know one thing it is how to wait. The insurgents will completely infiltrate the Iraqi military, while the religious fundamentalists will run for office and displace the Bush appointees to the interim government. The fundamentalists who are running for office are probably involved with the insurgents who are infiltrating the army. They will simply take over the government and eventually force the U.S. to leave, as once there are legitimate elections no administration will have any valid reasons, even to give the American people to keep troops there. It also seems that the Taliban may be trying a similar tack in Afghanistan will people leaning towards the Taliban starting to run for office in Afghanistan.

It would be interesting if Al Qaeda is behind the idea of having the fundamentalist elements quiet down and run for office, rather than fight for it.

[Zorra]

7. Mission Accomplished. Bu$h's plan to go down in history as the idiot

that started WW III appears to be a "catastrophic success".

[Eloriel]

8. Hah! And what about the million(s) we used to bribe the Army?

Does anyone REALLY think that our tax dollars aren't doing part of the job of funding the "insurgents"?

To recap, in case there are any DUers who don't know it (and I keep running across them), we bought off -- BRIBED -- the Iraqi Republican Guard or Army or whatever around Baghdad before we went in. Remember that 3-day "delay" between reaching Baghdad and going in? I think that's when the negotiations were going on to bribe the Iraqi troops (probably officers) who were there at the time. Of COURSE Baghdad "fell" easily. Tommy Franks himsefl cnfirmed that we bribed them. Such heroes we are.

[Desperadoe]

9. How come

these blowhards seem to know so much about the finances and the sources of the funding of the so-called insurgents but they can't seem to figure out where our money went to?

This is nothing but bullshit and rhetoric. Military intelligence is an oxymoron.

[teryang]

10. Zarqawi is only a tiny part of the violence

What have we spent? 15 million per insurgent? They have the leverage on us like a judo champion.

Once the insurgency is institutionalized, defeat of the occupying force is just a matter of time.

Finances and organization equals permanence.

[GHOSTDANCER]

11. They hate us for our FREEDOM!!!!!!

in·sur·gent ( P ) Pronunciation Key (n-sûrjnt)
adj.

1. Rising in revolt against established authority, especially a government.
2. Rebelling against the leadership of a political party.

[Disturbed]

12. Iraq was a Neo Fascist Wet Dream.

It has turned into a Nightmare!

[DeepModem Mom]

13. kick

[Forkboy]

14. Well,we'll just have to get more Freedom Bombs to drop on them then

We'll give 'em Democracy dammit!

[saigon68]

15. MEANWHILE BACK ON THE HIGH-WAY OF DEATH

A U.S. Army Bradley armoured vehicle burns next to a junction on the airport highway in Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites), Saturday, Oct 23, 2004. A roadside bomb exploded near an American military convoy in Baghdad, injuring six soldiers, the US command said. One US Army armoured vehicle was destroyed and the six men injured when an improvised explosive device, IED, was detonated as the military convoy passed. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)