While many Western analysts continue to portray them as a series of nationalist struggles, the jihads in Afghanistan, the Balkans, Iraq and elsewhere continue to attract many fighters from other countries, who wish to participate in jihad in the way of Allah -- jihad fi sabeel Allah. "Jihadis turn from Iraq to Afghanistan: Western forces offer more inviting targets," by Sebastian Rotella in the Chicago Tribune:
PARIS -- The conflict in Iraq is drawing fewer foreign fighters as Muslim extremists aspiring to battle the West turn their attention back to the symbolically important and increasingly violent turf of Afghanistan, European and U.S. anti-terror officials say.The shift of jihadis to Afghanistan this year suggests that Al Qaeda and its allies, armed with new tactics honed in Iraq, are coming full circle five years after U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban mullahs.
Until Sept. 11, 2001, Afghanistan was the land of jihad, hallowed ground where fighters from across the Muslim world helped vanquish the Soviet Union in the 1980s, fought alongside the Taliban in the 1990s and filled terror training camps overseen by Osama bin Laden. Loss of the Afghan sanctuary scattered the networks and sent bin Laden fleeing toward the Pakistani border region, where many anti-terror officials believe he remains.
After the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, jihadis from the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa and Europe flocked to confront the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. Although foreigners have been a minority in the Iraqi insurgency, militants such as Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi played a major role in spectacular suicide attacks and kidnap-murders.
But insurgent leaders in Iraq are now mainly interested in foreign recruits ready to die in suicide attacks, anti-terror officials say. Moreover, the conflict is dominated by sectarian violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims. In contrast, an accelerating Afghan offensive by the resurgent Taliban offers a clearer battleground and a wealth of targets: U.S. and other NATO troops and the Western-backed government.
As Iraqis have solidified control of their insurgency, the movement of foreign jihadis to Iraq has "significantly declined in recent months," said Pierre de Bousquet de Florian, director of the DST, France's lead counterterror agency.
"There is less need for them in Iraq because there's a need above all for kamikazes, and there are not an infinite number of volunteers," said Bousquet, whose agency works closely with U.S., European and Arab counterparts. "The Iraqi insurgency is now very well organized around Iraqis. Those who want to fight, but not necessarily to die as martyrs, go elsewhere."
Bousquet said anti-terror agents have detected a new flow of militants heading to Afghanistan, where more than 1,000 French soldiers are among the approximately 40,000 foreign troops deployed.
A leap in violence in Afghanistan this year has featured tactics such as suicide and roadside bombings that are trademarks of the insurgency in Iraq, according to Bousquet and other officials. Despite decades of warfare, suicide bombings were rare in Afghanistan. But the number of such attacks has shot up from 6 in 2004 to at least 78 so far this year.
Jihadis from North Africa make the odyssey to Afghanistan through routes that converge in Pakistan, another senior French anti-terror official said.
Different location;
Same flytrap.
Same war.
One degrades the enemy by killing those who intend to physically fight, pour encourager les autres. It's suicide by cop. Take them out.
God bless the West.
Re: "While many Western analysts continue to portray them as a series of nationalist struggles, the jihads in Afghanistan, the Balkans, Iraq and elsewhere continue to attract many fighters from other countries, who wish to participate in jihad in the way of Allah -- jihad fi sabeel Allah."
Jihad is an old story in Europe and elsewhere. I did not realize until recently how strongly it was tied in to the sea voyages of the late 1400's, efforts to find a watery passage to India, a way around regions controlled by Jihadists. After the Jihad bloodbath at Constantinople (1453) Europe was yet again under attack from Islam. Part of the reason for the voyages of Diaz, Columbus, etc. was to make contact with "Prester John" who was supposedly somewhere in India, and who it was said would be an ally against the Muslim mental illness that had even Vienna under attack.
The search for "Prester John" resulted in the discovery of a New World. The current search for "Prester Democracy" in the Mideast will send the non-Muslim world in a direction that will culminate in the discovery of a New-World-Of-Energy as the only alternative to Jihad mental illness. The late 1400's discovery of a New World and alternative routes to the Indies (China and India) made the Middle east irrelevant and the discovery of new energy will do the same in our time.
Bousquet said anti-terror agents have detected a new flow of militants heading to Afghanistan, where more than 1,000 French soldiers are among the approximately 40,000 foreign troops deployed.
Why here? Is it because they can operate freely where the French are? Could it be that the softness Paris shows at home to these crazies is now being expected here as well?
As for the other countries like the US and Britain:Iraq,Afghanistan;wherever you find this jihadist scum it doesn't matter. Wipe them ALL out.
This story reminds me of a swarm of flies moving from one pile of poop to another. Wherever there's a stench, that's where you'll find them. And wherever you find them it's always best to eliminate them, lest they spread disease.
It has always been known since 1990's among the Arab immigrants from North Africa in France, who saw some of their family members go away for a long time to visit Saudia Arabia for the Omrah that there was more to the going away to only visit. The Omrah is less well known pilgrimage to Mecca, similar to the Hadj but when one can think of it as a small Hadj. While the Hadj (the main pilgrimage) is set by a lunar calander year and is fixed, the Omrah on the other hand can be taken any time. Who among the "Insanes of Allah" would pass the opportunity to visit Mecca and Medina and it is paid for exclusively by the Saudi petro money funneled into the numerous mosques dotting the landscape of the French countryside and the suburban housing project.
The Omrah should not take that long. A couple of weeks at most, taken into account the very tough immigration and tourist policies of Saudia Arabia. But these recruits disappeared into thin air by way of Saudia Arabia or Yemen, then by boat to Pakistan and finally Afghanistan to meet their demented princes of AlQuaida. The Omrah is pretext to join Jihad. Saudia Arabian Jihadists had everything mapped out for these recruits. I am speaking only of the North African Muslims of France, I am not even mentioning the Pakistanis who from London or Paris can fly directly to Islamabad.
It is of no surprise to me that these same means of recruitment and routes to Afghanistan are being re-deployed now. There is a conspiracy of logistic and support to this movement of people for the sake of Jihad. It is support given by some higher ups in Saudia Arabia and Pakistan. Or else, how one would account for such ease of recruitment and movement of people from one country to another when these recruits themselves have absolutely no reason for going to Pakistan besides fighting for a demented cause and cultish religious beliefs.
It is time of the goverments of the West to account for any muslim going anywhere to the East. I mean anywhere, even Sudan or Somalia. Track these suckers and kill them, because they are going to kill innocent people and any infidels on their way. But when will Saudia Arabia and Paskistan fully cooperate. Two the most important "allies countries" of the United States. I am afraid to say that the Western countries are and will be on their own on these ones. We might as well called "Alien countries" as far as I am concerned.
Who is really running the war effort Iraq? The following article should make everyone mad at the way the war is being conducted in Iraq,-- in fact this is nuts!!!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/25/AR2006102500235.html
Anyone who thinks that muslims are only "against the West" should read this link.
This is the future of Europe.
http://www.westernresistance.com/blog/archives/003258.html
americaningermany -
I did a Google search, and the only definition for jihad that I found was "holy war", so I don't know what Shia is talking about. Maybe he's starting his own sect of Islam and he'll call it the Softer-Side of Islam.
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/1608
And this.
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/1596
ISLAMSFORLOSERS, your qip about the French is jsut silly knee jerk bigotry and fantasy conspiracy mongering at its finest. Bush's grandiose plans are crap, if he can't even cope with Afghanistan, where does he get the credibility to go somewhere else and muck that up. A tip to Buishbots, don't announce years in advance which country is evil and needs to be attacked.
As far as the honeypot flytrap ploy goes, it isn't working for a number of reasons. Since Iraq and Saddam HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH 9/11 AND WERE NOT INVOLVED IN JIHAD, it is pretty bloody and cynical of us to turn their country in a battle ground between us and other non-Iraqi jihad forces. How would you like it if the Canadian Mounties invaded your state and started a war in your backyard between them and the Mexican Mafia?
"The Iraqi insurgency is now very well organized around Iraqis. Those who want to fight, but not necessarily to die as martyrs, go elsewhere."
-- from a posting above, quoting a French specialist on the matter
The "Iraqi insurgency" of which he speaks is, of course, the Sunni Revolt. There are three constituite elements to that revolt. The one that has received the most publicity is that of outside volunteers for Al-Qaeda, the group whose head was the late Al-Zarqawi, and which regards the Shi'a, all Shi'a, as Infidels, and the Shi'a in Iraq as "Rafidite dogs," and are willing to kill them not only as a result of their "collaboration" with the Infidel Americans, but for being Infidels themselves. A second, larger group, consists of Sunnis who regret the end of Saddam Hussein's regime, and wish for the Ba'athist fist to smash local enemies -- all those who would not be willing to submit to such a regime -- a disguised form of Sunni despotism -- again. The third, and largest group, consists of almost all the Sunnis, who will never acquiesce in their new, and inferior, status, a reflection both of their real numbers in the population, and the resentment that their previous behavior has aroused in Shi'a Arabss and in (predominantly Sunni)Kurds.
The "insurgency" of which the French specialist speaks consists now of the second and third elelments. They will never give up. They will never permit the Shi'a to lord it over them, or to dominate the Land of the Two Rivers. It doesn't matter what form of "prosperity" is brought by either the endlessly foolable and Marxist (for that is what George Bush and his fan club are, Marxists who believe that economics determines everything, and all else is merely epiphenomenon, so that if the "Iraqi people" thrive economically, all manner of problems and hostilities and rivalries will vanish) Americans, for it is a question of who is to rule, who is to dominate. The oil wealth is there. The government that controls that wealth is there. The land that was once ruled by Sunni Arabs, and where so much of Islamic history was made, must not be allowed to fall into the hands of the Shi'a. And that is the belief of Sunnis in Iraq and, fortunately for Infidels, who can draw up a chair and watch the spectacle, for Sunni Arabs all over the Arab countries. Let them fight on, to recover for Sunni Islam the Land of the Two Rivers. Let them fight on forever.
Now see the problem with the 'hearts and minds' new liberal way of fighting wars?
if we'd dropped a nuke on Afgan, we'd have no problems now, and Bin Laden wouldnt have escaped, nor for that matter would any of the Taliban
if we'd dropped a couple on Iraq, we'd have no problems now, shia, sunni, kurd, sure they could pick whichever glowing region they wanted after that
we could also have thrown a few at pakistan and allowed the Russian to do likewise to chechnya as well
garenteed we'd then have no problems at all, because nobody in the islamic jihaddist world would dare to have uttered a word
Instead we're left with battlefield after battlefield and even our own nations are now not safe
what is it going to take to stop islam in its tracks?
ISLAMSFORLOSERS, your qip about the French is jsut silly knee jerk bigotry and fantasy conspiracy mongering at its finest. Bush's grandiose plans are crap, if he can't even cope with Afghanistan, where does he get the credibility to go somewhere else and muck that up. A tip to Buishbots, don't announce years in advance which country is evil and needs to be attacked.
Posted by: Dumbo at October 25, 2006 01:43 PM
1)You're right on Bush-giving advance warning is indeed ridiculous.
2)Actually, I like France. However, when we are treated to stories about how they let their cops act as targets for these nuts in their own country what's one to conclude? Just calling it as I see it-no bigotry intended.
3)Note to americaningermany:Thanks for the assist!
Gross stupidity in Afghanistan
Read an excellent article on Pakistani culpability in the US-Afghanistan fiasco. It's an unsparring look at Pakistan's treachery. A must read.
Gross stupidity in Afghanistan
By Ajai Sahni
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/HJ25Df01.html
Gross stupidity in Afghanistan
By Ajai Sahni
"Every single detail of what is occurring has been closely scripted, and Pakistan has been key to these developments from the very commencement of Operation Enduring Freedom to the present "reconquest" of nearly a third of Afghanistan by the resurgent Taliban. This, indeed, is the core of the enduring stupidity of US policy in the region: the utter and abysmal failure to see through Pakistani machinations, the continued and abject dependence on Pakistani "cooperation" to secure coalition objectives in Afghanistan, and the inability to comprehend the irreducible conflict of interests that excludes the very possibility of Pakistani good faith. US and coalition military commanders have repeatedly confirmed what Afghan President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly stated: that the "main problem lies inside Pakistan". Unfortunately, as one commentator has noted, "General Musharraf has played the Americans beautifully."
More here:
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/HJ25Df01.html
I am reading Ynkedood's link..
it just confirms what most of us are thinking about the lovely country of Pukistan!
Bush is so stupid indeed.. Too stupid for words.. Enduring Freedom my foot.. Endurin jehad sounds more like what's really going on.
Why don't we pull our people out of there? Remain near the main oil supplies.. meanwhile we DEVELOP OUR OWN ENERGIES like an earlier poster said..
AND WE FORTIFY OUR BORDERS and NO MORE TRAVEL between our countries and the jehadist countries.
End mufti immigration NOW!!!
we could also have thrown a few at pakistan and allowed the Russian to do likewise to chechnya as well
garenteed we'd then have no problems at all, because nobody in the islamic jihaddist world would dare to have uttered a word
Instead we're left with battlefield after battlefield and even our own nations are now not safe
what is it going to take to stop islam in its tracks?
Posted by: Taranus
Yeppers.. Walk softly and carry a BIG STICK!! Good idea you had about the Russians and Chechnya, too!!
Brits tried to 'civilize' Afghanistan & were hideously slaughtered & driven out-we know what happened to Soviets with U.S helping the Taleban with huge amounts of weapons such as Stingers & huge amounts of money...So what have we got?A country like Iraq that is awash with weapons-where an AK47 can be purchased for as little as $5.With all determination and best will in the World U.S and NATO will be defeated.Before Rednecks reading this start screaming,I'll tell you why.This war [like Iraq] is unwinnable.If it is to be WON-you'd have to bomb Pakistan and this lovely country is U.S's Ally.Morever impoverished Paki millions have a constant supply
of suicide bombers & Taleban fighters-their breeding rate of replenishment would outdo rats for starters.What the hell can a few thousand soldiers from NATO achieve when they are fighting for their lives every day?There is a huge porous border actively controlled by Pro Taleban fanatical Islamists from Pakistan.
The most sensible thing for U.S & NATO to do is-GET OUT NOW.
There is no way of stopping the war against us coming to western shores-the die is cast-LET US LOOK TO OUR COUNTRIES'S HOMELAND DEFENCES AND ARMING CIVILIAN POPULATION.YES,CUT AND RUN AND LIVE TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY...
Okay, that explains why they're demonstrating against discrimination, but hunger?
Hunger???
Since when have any of those muslim welfare recipients in France starved to death?
Posted by: americaningermany
What news outlet is this on?? What happened to then on you mentioned about Bush on CNN saying he'd caught the Mastermind of 9/11. My guess isn't that he meant bin Laden but left that for us to suggest to ourselves.. he meant KSM I am sure.
doubledoublespeakspeak
Jihadi muslim brothers moving atound in Dar-al-Islam. No surprise there..........
Ronin,
And, who is buddies with France right now? - Russia.
There's that "brinkmanship" scenario I told you about in action!
http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com
Always on/off topic:
There is no God but Bacchus and Caligula is His Prophet!
It's either that or the gloves come off.
FAT chance when you have Ted Kennedy in the Senate [isn't that a lovely pun]. It's OK to to cause a woman's death and leave her for dead while you sober up in comfort and it's quite another to shoot in self-defense and then go on trial for it at home!!!!!!!
Take off the handcuffs, Kennedy, McCain and whoever you are!!!
or get the hell out of there. Same as Viet Nam indeed. The cut and run, mr bin-Bush was already in place before we went in.. suicidal rules of engagement.. PC fighting all over..
unwinnable no matter how much better we are.
Oops,
Sorry Ronin,
I posted on the wrong thread...
http://doctorbulldog.wordpress.com
"Brits tried to 'civilize' Afghanistan & were hideously slaughtered & driven out-we know what happened to Soviets with U.S helping the Taleban with huge amounts of weapons such as Stingers & huge amounts of money..."
The US didn't give "Stingers & huge amounts of money" to the Taliban because the Taliban didn't even exist then.
"What the hell can a few thousand soldiers from NATO achieve when they are fighting for their lives every day?"
The only people fighting for their lives there are all of the Taliban and AQ getting killed every day. At least according to the people I know there who are doing the killing (and who didn't act as if they were "fighting for their lives").
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/1609
When is the immigration going to be stopped?
All the rioting in France because there are no jobs and yet the immigrants keep pouring in for the instant benefits. NO benefits to immigrants. See how fast they stop coming.