Note to Iraq leaders…the US has tried this before…it doesn’t work. The enemy of your enemy is still your enemy. Especially in this new Islamic extremist fight we find ourselves in.
Example: Osama Bin Laden. And we’ve seen how that movie ends already. I’m not too keen on seeing the sequel.
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s government is studying a request from some local insurgent leaders to supply them with weapons so they can turn on the heavily armed foreign fighters who were once their allies, according to two Iraqi lawmakers.
Leaders claiming to represent about 11 insurgent groups asked for weapons to fight foreign al-Qaeda elements in Iraq, said Haider al-Ibadi, a Shiite lawmaker and member of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Dawa Party.
“They want to take part in the war against terrorists,” said al-Ibadi, who supports the proposal. “They claim they could wipe out the terrorists and work with the government.”
Of course you need to pay attention to such requests, but do we really think these “foreign” fighters are going to be the target with the new weapons?
And if you think that the foreign fighters are making that much of a difference in Iraq, well, evidence suggests that the insurgency is really backed and fought by the same people who were controlling Iraq in the first place.
“I believe that former regime members form 40 to 50 percent of the insurgency,” said Diaa Rashwan, an Egyptian expert on militant groups. “Operations by al-Qaida and the Mujahedeen Shura Council make between five to 10 percent only, a maximum of 10 percent.”
Rashwan said there was “no doubt” that veterans of Saddam’s intelligence and security network form “an important part of the Iraqi resistance at the command level.”
U.S. officials have also said that the percentage of insurgents belonging to al-Qaida in Iraq was relatively small, although the organization has drawn more attention because of its worldwide image and its tactic of spectacular suicide attacks against civilians.
So what does this say to me? Don’t give them ANY weapons. These are people bent on retaking Iraq, and they’re most likely already giving aid and shelter to any foreign fighters. Don’t trust them. Not for a second.