The Connection Illustrated...in the New York Times
The New York Times published an interesting account of the recent crackdown on al Qaeda in Iraq, including those responsible for the Samarra mosque bombing today. From the Times:
An Iraqi affiliated with Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia led the team that carried out the February bombing of a golden-domed Shiite shrine, unleashing waves of sectarian violence that still convulse Iraq today, an Iraqi security official said on Wednesday.
The insurgent, Haitham al-Badri, is in hiding in Iraq and being sought by government forces, said the official, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, the national security adviser.
Mr. Badri also personally killed Atwar Bahjat, an Iraqi reporter for the network Al Arabiya who was abducted and murdered after traveling to Samarra, the site of the Askariya shrine, on the day it was bombed, Mr. Rubaie said. Two of Ms. Bahjat's colleagues were also killed in that ambush.
Mr. Rubaie said the Iraqi government learned the details of the shrine bombing after the capture a few days ago of Yusri Fakher Muhammad Ali, also known as Abu Qudama, a Tunisian militant who confessed to be a member of Mr. Badri's team. Mr. Ali, who entered Iraq in November 2003, also said the assault team consisted of four Saudis and two Iraqis in addition to himself and Mr. Badri, Mr. Rubaie said. ...
That a native Iraqi was behind the bombing will come as a shock to many in and of itself. But, there's more. Who is Haitham al-Badri, the Iraqi who tried to incite sectarian violence by destroying such a holy shrine? From the Times:
Mr. Badri was born in Samarra and comes from a predominantly Sunni tribe in Salahuddin Province, the home region of Saddam Hussein, Mr. Rubaie said. He had ties to Mr. Hussein's government and was a member of the Army of Ansar al-Sunna before joining Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. Ansar al-Sunna is a particularly violent religious group that was founded in the far north after the American invasion, but has since recruited members from all across Iraq.
What's that? Yet another one of Saddam's goons went on to lead al Qaeda in Iraq? But I thought, according to the Times, this type of cooperation was an impossibility.
That Badri was one of Saddam's goons should come as no surpise. Many of "Zarqawi's" and "al Qaeda's" top operatives inside Iraq were former officers in either Saddam's military or intelligence services. As I wrote in "Spinning Zarqawi":
Just as Saddam ordered, many of Iraq's senior military and intelligence personnel joined or aided Zarqawi's jihad. Many of the more prominent supporters and members of Zarqawi's al Qaeda branch, in fact, came from the upper echelon of Saddam's regime. Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri (aka the "King of Clubs") and his sons allied with Zarqawi, as did members of Muhammad Hamza Zubaydi's (aka the "Queen of Spades") family. Zarqawi's allies included Muhammed Hila Hammad Ubaydi, who was an aide to Saddam's chief of staff of intelligence, and some of his more lethal operatives served as officers in Saddam's military, including Abu Ali, "Al-Hajji" Thamer Mubarak (whose sister attempted a martyrdom operation in Jordan), Abu-Ubaidah, and Abdel Fatih Isa.
THESE BAATHISTS, and others, have spilled much blood in Zarqawi's name. Their attacks were among "Zarqawi's" most successful, including an assault on the Abu Ghraib prison and the first attack on the U.N.'s headquarters. The latter strike was among al Qaeda's earliest, killing Sergio de Mello, the U.N.'s special representative in Baghdad, in August 2003.
Now, in addition to the Abu Ghraib prison assault and the first attack on the U.N.'s headquarters, we know that the Samarra bombing was also orchestrated by a former agent of Saddam.
Will the New York Times do a big investigative report on all of these agents of Saddam who work with al Qaeda? Don't hold your breath. Did the Times step back and ask, how is it that terrorists like al-Badri went from Saddam's regime to al Qaeda?
(Also discussing: Iraq the Model, Austin Bay, Mark Eichenlaub)
An Iraqi affiliated with Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia led the team that carried out the February bombing of a golden-domed Shiite shrine, unleashing waves of sectarian violence that still convulse Iraq today, an Iraqi security official said on Wednesday.
The insurgent, Haitham al-Badri, is in hiding in Iraq and being sought by government forces, said the official, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, the national security adviser.
Mr. Badri also personally killed Atwar Bahjat, an Iraqi reporter for the network Al Arabiya who was abducted and murdered after traveling to Samarra, the site of the Askariya shrine, on the day it was bombed, Mr. Rubaie said. Two of Ms. Bahjat's colleagues were also killed in that ambush.
Mr. Rubaie said the Iraqi government learned the details of the shrine bombing after the capture a few days ago of Yusri Fakher Muhammad Ali, also known as Abu Qudama, a Tunisian militant who confessed to be a member of Mr. Badri's team. Mr. Ali, who entered Iraq in November 2003, also said the assault team consisted of four Saudis and two Iraqis in addition to himself and Mr. Badri, Mr. Rubaie said. ...
That a native Iraqi was behind the bombing will come as a shock to many in and of itself. But, there's more. Who is Haitham al-Badri, the Iraqi who tried to incite sectarian violence by destroying such a holy shrine? From the Times:
Mr. Badri was born in Samarra and comes from a predominantly Sunni tribe in Salahuddin Province, the home region of Saddam Hussein, Mr. Rubaie said. He had ties to Mr. Hussein's government and was a member of the Army of Ansar al-Sunna before joining Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. Ansar al-Sunna is a particularly violent religious group that was founded in the far north after the American invasion, but has since recruited members from all across Iraq.
What's that? Yet another one of Saddam's goons went on to lead al Qaeda in Iraq? But I thought, according to the Times, this type of cooperation was an impossibility.
That Badri was one of Saddam's goons should come as no surpise. Many of "Zarqawi's" and "al Qaeda's" top operatives inside Iraq were former officers in either Saddam's military or intelligence services. As I wrote in "Spinning Zarqawi":
Just as Saddam ordered, many of Iraq's senior military and intelligence personnel joined or aided Zarqawi's jihad. Many of the more prominent supporters and members of Zarqawi's al Qaeda branch, in fact, came from the upper echelon of Saddam's regime. Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri (aka the "King of Clubs") and his sons allied with Zarqawi, as did members of Muhammad Hamza Zubaydi's (aka the "Queen of Spades") family. Zarqawi's allies included Muhammed Hila Hammad Ubaydi, who was an aide to Saddam's chief of staff of intelligence, and some of his more lethal operatives served as officers in Saddam's military, including Abu Ali, "Al-Hajji" Thamer Mubarak (whose sister attempted a martyrdom operation in Jordan), Abu-Ubaidah, and Abdel Fatih Isa.
THESE BAATHISTS, and others, have spilled much blood in Zarqawi's name. Their attacks were among "Zarqawi's" most successful, including an assault on the Abu Ghraib prison and the first attack on the U.N.'s headquarters. The latter strike was among al Qaeda's earliest, killing Sergio de Mello, the U.N.'s special representative in Baghdad, in August 2003.
Now, in addition to the Abu Ghraib prison assault and the first attack on the U.N.'s headquarters, we know that the Samarra bombing was also orchestrated by a former agent of Saddam.
Will the New York Times do a big investigative report on all of these agents of Saddam who work with al Qaeda? Don't hold your breath. Did the Times step back and ask, how is it that terrorists like al-Badri went from Saddam's regime to al Qaeda?
(Also discussing: Iraq the Model, Austin Bay, Mark Eichenlaub)
posted by Thomas Joscelyn at 11:04 AM
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