Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, Head of Baath Party to Help Coalition Fight al-Qaeda...
Big news! Al-Douri is considered the head of the Baathist insurgency and has been an ally of al-Qaeda. Suck it Dems!!....
The leader of Iraq's banned Baath party, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, has decided to join efforts by the Iraqi authorities to fight al-Qaeda, one of the party's former top officials, Abu Wisam al-Jashaami, told pan-Arab daily Al Hayat.
"AlDouri has decided to sever ties with al-Qaeda and sign up to the programme of the national resistance, which includes routing Islamist terrorists and opening up dialogue with the Baghdad government and foreign forces," al-Jashaami said.
Al-Douri has decided to deal directly with US forces in Iraq, according to al-Jashaami. He figures in the 55-card deck of "most wanted" officials from the former Iraqi regime issued by the US government.
In return, for cooperating in the fight against al-Qaeda, al-Douri has asked for guarantees over his men's safety and for an end to Iraqi army attacks on his militias.
Recent weeks have seen a first step in this direction, when Baathist fighters cooperated with Iraqi government forces in hunting down al-Qaeda operatives in the volatile Diyala province and in several districts of the capital, Baghadad.
Until just a few months ago, former Baath party members were helping Islamists carry out terrorist attacks against US forces in Iraq.
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if true, this is at worst, interesting, and at best a huge and momentous swing in our direction. Unfortunately, the nature of the beast of warfare is we get into bed with a lot of very awful people. Watch the Democrats spin this naturally in a direction that makes the mission look hopeless, something like, "there is impending doom if we are relying on former Baathists. Didn't we invade Iraq to remove the Baathists and now we are allying ourselves with them"
Posted by: mike volpe | August 22, 2007 at 01:43 PM
Remember:
12/30/06 Saddam executed
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16389128/
12/31/06 Baath party in Jordan names Izzat their leader
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baghdad_Citizens_Gathering
1/1/07 Battle for new Baath Party leader after Saddam expected
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1980915,00.html
1/2/07 Izzat and rival have meeting in January after execution, Izzat and friends walk out
http://fairuse.100webcustomers.com/fairenough/latimes964.html
1/3/07 Izzat is named party Baath leader while in Syria
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6226977.stm
1/10/07 Bush orders more troops to Iraq to quell sectarian violence and facilitate national political reconciliation
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6260067.stm
1/14/07 Iraq’s Talibani visits Syria
Since then, Iraqi tribes have been uniting to fight AQ in Iraq. Iraqi militias have been joining the fight against AQ in Iraq. The ISF's gotten stronger. US forces have decimated the insurgency killing/capturing 1000-2000 a month! Meanwhile, the Iraqi government's been making overt overtures to Iran and Syria and others to help end the violence.
It would be a small wonder to believe that Saddam's #2 man...his replacement, might be seeking ways to just sorta fade away-not surrender, not be defeated....
...just sorta fade away. A nice pension from a Saudi or Arab Emirate might make that happen a lot easier. Maybe a safe retreat in Lebanon or Syria or France...who knows? It's not out of the realm of possibility despite what Democrats try to market.
Posted by: Scott Malensek | August 22, 2007 at 10:24 PM