Iraq - Not A Civil War

As much as people on the left, anti-war activists and the liberal press would like it to be, the war in Iraq is not a civil war. Here is some evidence to support that.

The Sunnis realised shortly after the Iraqi elections that they had made a terrible mistake listening to their religious leaders in boycotting those elections. They then scrambled to become part of the political process and now they have seats in the cabinet - the Iraqi cabinet.

Now comes news that the Sunnis are now joining the army - the Iraqi army.

After the Iraqi government confirmed the appointment of a Sunni in the position of defense minister. Iraqi Arab Sunnis started heading for the army enlisting centers to join the new Iraqi Army. This was evident by the long lines and large crowds of young men outside these centers in the largely Sunni area of Baghdad. This is the main reason for the increase in the terrorist activities in and around these centers.

The terrorists are desperate to keep the Sunnis on their side and stop Iraq from becoming unified. But They are failing.

The general also said there are indications that some Sunnis in the region want to join the political process, and that the insurgents are engaged in what he called an 'intimidation campaign' against those people. "It is a region that is in turmoil, and in some regards in conflict with itself. And we're starting to see that, as a matter of fact, in some of the reporting, where even some of the Sunni elements are starting to have conflict with each other over which direction the province should go," he said.

Next is the fact that "no documented case in which a suicide attacker turned out to have been an Iraqi." Hat tip to Harry.

But supporting the impression that a harder-core insurgent element has become more important, the officers say, is the fact that suicide missions have become more frequent and more ruthless -- many have been positioned and timed to kill civilians as well as Iraqi security forces. U.S. and Iraqi authorities say suicide drivers are invariably foreign fighters. Officers here said they knew of no documented case in which a suicide attacker turned out to have been an Iraqi.

And where are these foreign fighters coming from? Syria. That's why the US launched Operation Matador.

"There are reports that these people are in uniforms, in some cases are wearing protective vests, and there's some suspicion that their training exceeds that of what we have seen with other engagements further east," he said.

As one of Harry's commenters noted, a few bombs dropped inside Syria's border ought to give Assad the message to get his act together or we'll take care of the problem.

With the Sunnis joining the Iraq government and army, the chance of igniting a civil war is gone and now there are signs that the terrorists may be getting ready to make their last stand.

"But he said these insurgents in western al-Anbar province are standing and fighting, and even launched a counter-offensive, rather than fleeing as many insurgents have done in the past when faced with a coalition offensive."

And we all know how that will end.

Defeated in Afghanistan and Iraq and fracturing in Pakistan, how much longer can al Qaeda attract follwers to a losing cause?

UPDATE

The Washington Times reports that al Qaeda is sending it's best fighters to Iraq to make a last stand.

A Marine officer told a Los Angeles Times reporter, "These are the professional fighters who have come from all over the Middle East. These are people who have received training and are very well-armed."

And they are being killed in large numbers.

The Times also adds evidence that this is not a civil war.

The war's changing nature is also illustrated by the list of the high-ranking enemy announced as captured by the new Baghdad government. Virtually all of those caught since December have been identified as lieutenants of the Jordanian-born Zarqawi, not operatives for Iraq's former dictator Saddam Hussein.

Some are convinced that the Iraq war will break the back of al Qaeda.

"In the Muslim world and extremist world, this fight for Iraq is their key battle," said Gen. McInerney. "If they lose it, they lose the war. And so the imams are inciting young people, not particular well-educated, to head to Iraq. Most are going through Syria via Damascus.

Time to get tough with Assad.
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