The Iraqi Insurgency that followed the second Gulf War has taken more American and Coalition combat lives than the actual war. Tactics including beheadings, kidnapping, murder, intimidation and not to mention the non ending onslaught of road side bombs that have killed and severely injured so many allied forces trying to restore peace in Iraq. Now that Saddam is gone and a new government is in place the violence has not subsided. The Iraqi Insurgency is a dynamic force with many heads that are not connected as a whole. Each insurgent group is operating on it’s on behalf and for their own ideological reasons. The best way to look at this is to breakdown the known groups that are fighting against U.S. Coalition troops and/or the new Iraq government. An Important thing to remember about this type of guerilla warfare is that U.S. and Coalition troops losses have been high and regrettable, but the actual figure of dead Iraqi civilian casualties is enormous in comparison since the campaign of terror against their neighborhoods started.

Al Qaeda in Iraq

The Al Qaeda terrorists we face in Iraq are part of the same enemy that attacked the United States on 9/11.  While there is a debate in Washington about al Qaeda’s role in Iraq, the facts are that al Qaeda in Iraq is an organization founded by foreign terrorists, led largely by foreign terrorists, and loyal to Osama bin Laden. The organization swore it allegiance to Osama Bin Laden’s network and was originally founded by a Jordanian named Abu Musab Al Zarqawi. Before 9/11, Zarqawi ran a terrorist camp in Afghanistan.  According to U.S. intelligence community, Zarqawi had longstanding relations with senior al Qaeda leaders and had met with Osama bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri. In 2001, Zarqawi left Afghanistan and eventually went to Iraq to set up operations with terrorist associates after Coalition forces destroyed his Afghan training camp. In 2004, Zarqawi and his terrorist group formally joined al Qaeda, pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden, and promised to “follow his orders in jihad.” Bin Laden publicly declared Zarqawi the “Prince of Al Qaeda in Iraq” and instructed terrorists in Iraq to “listen to him and obey him.” al Qaeda in Iraq has been very effective at pulling off spectacular attacks on US led coalition forces as well as on Iraqi civilian targets. Early on in 2004 this terrorist group concentrated on kidnapping and eventually beheading their hostages. In 2005 Al Qaeda in Iraq began to deploy suicide bombers from around the globe that tracked to the embattled nation to offer their lives in order to kill as many U.S. and coalition personnel as possible. The use of car bombs and more suicide bombers seemed to become the mainstay of this terrorist unit. In September 2005, Zarqawi reportedly declared “all-out war” on Shia in Iraq in response to the Shia government offensive on the Sunni town of Tal Afar. AL Qaeda in Iraq took a major blow in the Summer of 2006 when Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. airstrike. As of 2007 the terrorist group began losing it’s foothold in Iraq. I do not mean that they have lost, but rather that Al Qaeda in Iraq has possibly worn out it’s welcome. AQI has used merciless methods for killing which has resulted in large numbers of death in Iraq. The same Sunni tribes and towns that harbored them originally began to question the methods that the group used. Too many Iraqis both Sunni and Shia were dieing. The tribal leaders even though fearful of AL Qaeda began attacking and pushing the group out of their areas and into other areas. The second reason for the demise of the group was that Iraqi Sunni militias that originally worked with AL Qaeda in Iraq were now working with the new Shia led government and U.S. troops. This began to leave Al Qaeda in Iraq without a country, isolated and running out of places to plan and hide. The U.S. troop surge weakened the operational network even further and routed out many AQI members from their hiding. Currently early in 2008, Al Qaeda in Iraq is down but not completely out. The conditions on the ground are still volatile and a new surge from this group can emerge again. The biggest threat of this return would be likely caused by attacks from Shia militias from the South or crackdowns on Sunni groups that may feel disenfranchised by the current Shia led government in Baghdad.

The Shia Militias

The majority of Iraqis are of the Shia sect of Islam. In Iraq of the past this was not a real issue as Sunni and Shia would have inter sect marriages without any problems. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein and his Ba’athists regime everything has changed. Your religious sect means almost everything now. Shia and Sunni have waged a secular war with revenge killings using Death Squads murdering thousands of Iraqi civilians. The most worrisome Shia Militia is undoubtedly the Mahdi Army which originated in 2003 after the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The group possesses a deep and disciplined following for their founder and leader Muqtada al-Sadr. He is the most powerful religious leader that is not part of the Newly formed Iraqi Government.

In 2004 his Militia fought diligently against U.S. and coalition troops after his newspaper was shut down and attempts to arrest him were made. for two months his regiments fought with U.S. forces until a truce was signed that would disband his militia and he would become part of the newly formed government. The truce only lasted a few months before hostilities resumed in Sadr City. Muqtada al-Sadr leads over 10,000 militiamen and has been very critical of the U.S. occupation in Iraq. He has very close ties inside Iran and has fled to the neighboring country for periods of time to escape from Coalition forces and Iraqi police. He has many sympathizers throughout the Shia population and has become a very political and polarizing force. He has the ability to create a lot of problems for the new and untested government which has at times protected him. He has been a tough nut to crack and his close ties to Iran is bothersome. Iran has been accused of supplying very technical and advanced IED devices that have killed many U.S. and Coalition forces. The Mahdi Army is widely accused of propelling the cycle of sectarian violence that threatens to plunge the country into all-out civil war .Since August 2006 the Mahdi Army and al-Sadr have not challenged coalition troops on a wide scale. Neither the coalition or the Iraqi government has made any move to arrest al-Sadr and they have not challenged the Army’s de facto control over a number of areas in southern Iraq. The Army continues to provide security in a number of southern cities. The latest news is not so good. In March 2008 al-Sadr has launched a nationwide civil disobedience campaign across Iraq to protest raids and detentions against the Mahdi Army members. This is also a result of the clashes that occurring in the Southern town of Basra between Iraqi security forces and the Mahdi Army. The perplexing idea of why is this guy still operating and not in custody. He has led uprisings and his militants have been a problem since their origination 5 years ago. It appears that he his ability to fight and then accept a truce only to break it again has worked very well for him. As long as he has the ability to influence his Army and dictate orders to them Iraq will be in jeopardy.

Ba’athists

The Ba’athists prior to the 2nd Gulf War was the political party of Saddam Hussein and held great power and prestige in the Saddam Regime. Their initial hope after the fall of Baghdad was to return Saddam and the Ba’athists back to power and to go back to business as usual. Now that Saddam has been captured and executed the former political party has come to terms that their is no place for the Ba’athists Regime in the new form of Iraq government. It is very difficult for a group to lose power, especially a minority leadership that was as deadly and unforgiving as the Ba’athists were under Saddam. For the most part, the remnants of the former party has splintered and the only resistance from this group comes from the militia branch called the Fedayeen that gave a staunch resistance during the US led invasion in 2003. They ambushed convoy trucks and resisted U.S. and coalition troops. They are also suspected members of Death Squads that have occasionally targeted Shiite neighborhoods after the new Shia led government was in place.

Sunni Nationalists

Sunni are a minority in Iraq. The interesting thing about this population is that they have been able to control the power of Iraq since Britain Colonial rule ended over fifty years ago. Many of the members involved with the insurgency are former Iraqi military forces. The goals of this group is to remove foreign presence from Iraq and to restore a Sunni led government for Iraq. The group has been accused of revenge killings of Shia civiliams. Sunni nationalist guerrillas and jihadists battled with each other in the Iraqi capital in May 2007, marking a significant shift in the focus of al Qaeda and its allies, which have thus far mostly struck Shiite targets. The struggle over the leadership of the Sunni insurgency is reaching a critical phase due to the multilevel political dealings aimed at reaching a power-sharing settlement in Iraq. The jihadists are trying to exploit internal differences among the Sunnis, but they probably will not succeed since their actions likely will end up unifying the various Sunni groups against al Qaeda and its allies even deeper.

"Shock and Awe"

Iraq War: Iraqi Freedom 2003

Iraq after Desert Storm

After Coalition troops routed Iraq in the 1991 war. The international community agreed to maintain a policy of containment of the Iraqi regime headed by Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship. No fly zones were established in the Northern part of Iraq to protect the Kurds and a second Iraqi no fly zone was established in the Southern portion of Iraq to protect the Shiite population from the vengeance of Saddam. In addition to the establishment of the no-fly zones the United Nations continued the severe economic sanctions against the country. The sanctions were put in place prior to the first war shortly after Iraq invaded Kuwait and refused to withdraw. Throughout the 1990’s following the gulf war Saddam’s regime became more defiant as time went on. The sanctions against Iraq were taking a huge toll on the populous, but Hussein’s iron fist immediately crushed any ill will toward his regime inside of his borders. Torture, murder and fear became the status quo for many in Iraq. In one report by an Iraqi stated that Saddam had the eyes of children plucked out because of their parents unwillingness to support the Iraqi dictator. Some areas remained immune from Saddam’s wrath while other areas took the brunt of it. Evidence also provided basis of why the sanctions were not as effective as they could be. Member countries from within the UN as well as international corporations continued to trade and conduct business with the Iraqi regime despite sanctions. These actions not only expose the weakness of the UN in dealing with world conflicts but it also creates an atmosphere of defiance on sanctioned nations.

In October 1998, U.S. policy shifted away from containment and moved towards “regime change,” as President Clinton signed the the ” Iraqi Liberation Act”. The reasoning behind this act was due to Iraq’s refusing cooperation with weapons inspectors and acts of atrocities within Iraq’s border against specific groups including Kurd and Shiite populations. Iraq had increasingly became emboldened by being able to work past sanctions and began attempting to shoot down US and British aircraft protecting the no-fly zones. The act provided $97 million for Iraqi “democratic opposition organizations” to “establish a program to support a transition to democracy in Iraq. The signing of this act for the first time supported the idea of regime change in Iraq. Shortly after the passage of this act the U.S. and Britain launched a bombing campaign of Iraq called “Operation Desert Fox”. The campaign’s main purpose was to hamper the Hussein government’s ability to produce chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. U.S. national security personnel also hoped it would help weaken Saddam’s ability to impose his regime on the populous and to further embolden resistance groups within Iraq. Clinton administration officials said the aim of the mission was to “degrade” Iraq’s ability to manufacture and use weapons of mass destruction, not to eliminate it. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was asked about the distinction while the operation was going on: “I don’t think we’re pretending that we can get everything, so this is – I think – we are being very honest about what our ability is. We are lessening, degrading his ability to use this. The weapons of mass destruction are the threat of the future. I think the president explained very clearly to the American people that this is the threat of the 21st century. . . . What it means is that we know we can’t get everything, but degrading is the right word.”

The Case For War

The events of September 11, 2001 changed the way America and her allies dealt with countries with and suspected of assisting terrorist groups. The following statements were presented by President George Bush in January 2003 during his State of the Union Address to the American people for the need to go to war against Iraq.

“Almost three months ago, the United Nations Security Council gave Saddam Hussein his final chance to disarm. He has shown instead utter contempt for the United Nations, and for the opinion of the world. The 108 U.N. inspectors were sent to conduct — were not sent to conduct a scavenger hunt for hidden materials across a country the size of California. The job of the inspectors is to verify that Iraq’s regime is disarming. It is up to Iraq to show exactly where it is hiding its banned weapons, lay those weapons out for the world to see, and destroy them as directed. Nothing like this has happened”.

“The United Nations concluded in 1999 that Saddam Hussein had biological weapons sufficient to produce over 25,000 liters of anthrax — enough doses to kill several million people. He hasn’t accounted for that material. He’s given no evidence that he has destroyed it”.

“The United Nations concluded that Saddam Hussein had materials sufficient to produce more than 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin — enough to subject millions of people to death by respiratory failure. He hadn’t accounted for that material. He’s given no evidence that he has destroyed it”.

“Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent. In such quantities, these chemical agents could also kill untold thousands. He’s not accounted for these materials. He has given no evidence that he has destroyed them”.

“U.S. intelligence indicates that Saddam Hussein had upwards of 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents. Inspectors recently turned up 16 of them — despite Iraq’s recent declaration denying their existence. Saddam Hussein has not accounted for the remaining 29,984 of these prohibited munitions. He’s given no evidence that he has destroyed them”.

“The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed in the 1990s that Saddam Hussein had an advanced nuclear weapons development program, had a design for a nuclear weapon and was working on five different methods of enriching uranium for a bomb. The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. Our intelligence sources tell us that he has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production. Saddam Hussein has not credibly explained these activities. He clearly has much to hide”.

“Year after year, Saddam Hussein has gone to elaborate lengths, spent enormous sums, taken great risks to build and keep weapons of mass destruction. But why? The only possible explanation, the only possible use he could have for those weapons, is to dominate, intimidate, or attack”.

“With nuclear arms or a full arsenal of chemical and biological weapons, Saddam Hussein could resume his ambitions of conquest in the Middle East and create deadly havoc in that region. And this Congress and the America people must recognize another threat. Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications, and statements by people now in custody reveal that Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of al Qaeda. Secretly, and without fingerprints, he could provide one of his hidden weapons to terrorists, or help them develop their own”.

“The dictator who is assembling the world’s most dangerous weapons has already used them on whole villages — leaving thousands of his own citizens dead, blind, or disfigured. Iraqi refugees tell us how forced confessions are obtained — by torturing children while their parents are made to watch. International human rights groups have catalogued other methods used in the torture chambers of Iraq: electric shock, burning with hot irons, dripping acid on the skin, mutilation with electric drills, cutting out tongues, and rape. If this is not evil, then evil has no meaning”.

“And tonight I have a message for the brave and oppressed people of Iraq: Your enemy is not surrounding your country — your enemy is ruling your country. (Applause.) And the day he and his regime are removed from power will be the day of your liberation”.

The US maintained that Iraq was not cooperating with UN inspectors and had not met its obligations to 17 UN resolutions. The US felt that resolution 1441 called for the immediate, total disarmament of Iraq and continued to show frustration at the fact that months after the resolution was passed Iraq was still not disarming. Language in Resolution 1441 recalled that the use of “all means necessary” was still authorized and in effect from UN Resolution 678, and therefore maintained that if Iraq failed to comply with the “one final chance to comply” provision of resolution 1441, then military action would be the result.

The Second Gulf  War: Operation Iraqi Freedom was much more controversial than the first war that had the majority of the world community backing the use of military force to remove Saddam’s military from Kuwait and from threatening Saudi Arabia further.  Opinion on the war was greatly divided between nations. Some countries felt that the United States failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Hussein had an active weapons program. Others felt that Iraq was an insignificant and militarily weak country that was not worth fighting over. Some saw the war as an act of US imperialism and charged that the United States just wanted Iraq’s oil.  An important overlooked point that to this day needs to be answered is the OIL-for-Food Scandal that played a big part in the ineffectiveness of the sanctions against Saddam’s regime.  Ten Plus years of  ignoring UN Resolutions and a split in the Security Council on how to force Saddam to obey by the cease fire agreement of the First Gulf War had only emboldened this dictator more as time went on.

“I believe the U.N., parts of it, have been corrupt for years. But this went to a whole new level,” said Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats and International Relations.  Shays led one of several Oil-for-Food probes by the federal government. The General Accountability Office has already pegged Saddam’s Oil-for-Food take at $10.1 billion. It could end up being a lot more. 

“We’re talking about American lives that are being lost in an attempt to bring democracy to Iraq,” Shays said. If France, Russia, China and Germany had told Saddam it was time to back down and honor his commitments, Shays said it’s possible the United States may not have needed to go to war against Saddam.  Some evidence suggests that those countries that said they were opposing the Bush administration on principle were actually making billions from Oil-for-Food. 

“I think clearly, American blood is in the hands of a number of European countries, who could have put pressure on Saddam, who could’ve looked him in the eye and said, ‘the United States is coming in,’” Shays said. “And to me, some of the explanation clearly has to be the Oil-for-Food program.”  Shays added that there is a chance some of the insurgents now operating against the United States and the new Iraqi government are using Oil-for-Food money in their terror campaign.  “I think it’s not only possible that insurgents are using Oil-for-Food money — I think it’s very likely,” Shays said.

Finally an important point that is hardly ever made except by a few experts is probably the most interesting and simplest one of all.. If Saddam’s regime was not violating weapons bans or basically had nothing to hide, why did he not just let the inspectors do their job.  He had everything to gain by doing this and could have gained even more support from already sympathetic nations.  Sanctions would have been removed and The US and Britain would never have invaded.  In essence Saddam’s regime could have lived to fight another day. 

Throughout the war and occupation corruption has been implied by many opponents of the war in Iraq. The war has benefited companies such as Haliburton that have close ties to Vice President Cheney as well as previous unheard of profits by the big oil companies. The aftermath of Iraqi Freedom has created a guerrilla warfare environment with no regards for human life. It would be hard to establish that a concise and intelligent plan for the rebuilding of Iraq was ever in place. Many Americans that believed in the purpose behind the war and the removal of Saddam’s Regime are now scratching their heads on how unprepared the US coalition was for the possibility of an insurgency which has been a consistent historical part of foreign occupation after many wars in the past. The death toll continues to rise and the American and other coalition constituents are losing patience and support on what, regardless of your opinion before the war, is now a critical battle in the “War on Terror”.

Iraqi Freedom: War Begins

The Second Iraq War began on March 19th under the U.S. codename “Operation Iraqi Freedom.” The British military’s codename for their participation in the invasion was called Operation Telic. The coalition forces cooperated with Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the north. Approximately forty nations, referred to as the ” Coalition of the Willing”, participated by providing equipment, services and security as well as special forces. The initial coalition military forces were roughly 300,000, of which 98% were U.S. and British troops.

Decapitation attack: To begin the Second Gulf war in Iraq U.S. and coalition forces launched cruise missiles and dropped bombs at targets in Iraq including a “decapitation attack” aimed at Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and other top members of the country’s leadership. Saddam escaped the initial ‘Shock and Awe” explosions that rocked specific targets.

March 20, 2003

Iraq launched as many as 10 missiles into Kuwait. Two were intercepted by Patriot missiles, U.S. military officials said.
Iraqi officials on Iraqi television said 72 missiles hit Baghdad, killing “four Iraqi fighters” and an officer. U.S. officials said more than 60 cruise missiles have been fired at targets in and around Baghdad since Operation Iraqi Freedom began.
A U.S. Marine CH-46 helicopter crashed in Kuwait, killing all 12 crew members, the first coalition fatalities of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Pentagon officials said.   The 3rd Division  a highly mobile, rapid-response unit of the Army’s XVIII Airborne Corps are making quick progress toward Baghdad without any resistance. Its weaponry includes the M1A1 Abrams battle tank, the M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle and the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter
Coalition forces bombed the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
The “shock and awe” phase of the U.S.-led war against Iraq has been put on hold while the military assesses the state of the Iraqi leadership after initial air strikes, Pentagon officials said.

March 21, 2003

Spectacular bombing rocked Baghdad, Tikrit, Mosul and Kirkuk.  These are areas where US and coalition forces want to soften prior to ground troops arriving.  U.S. aircraft flying over Iraq dropped more than 2 million leaflets, according to a U.S. military statement. More than half of the leaflets were dropped on Iraqi military forces encouraging them to surrender.  U.S. forces continued to move to destinations with little to no resistance.. One group of Bradley Fighting Vehicles, M1A1 Abrams battle tanks and other vehicles was heading toward Baghdad at a much quicker pace than anticipated.  The majority of Iraq’s 51st army division (approximately 8,000 soldiers) responsible for the protection of Iraq’s Southern border have surrendered to coalition forces while others deserted their posts. At this point there appears to be an unwillingness to confront US and coalition forces in conventional warfare.  Casualties:  8 U.K. and 4 U.S. military personnel

March 22 -23, 2003

A U.S. soldier was taken into custody after in a grenade and small arms attack at an Army camp in northern Kuwait, the U.S. Central Command said. The attack on the 101st Airborne Division camp wounded 13 people.  U.S.-led coalition troops advanced more than 150 miles into Iraqi territory and crossed the Euphrates River using existing bridges, the Pentagon said.  The northern cities of Mosul and Kirkuk were bombed for the third night in a row.  Two U.S. Patriot missiles destroyed an Iraqi missile fired at a U.S. Army base in northern Kuwait.  Six British crewmembers and one American died when two U.K. Navy  helicopters collided over the Persian Gulf, U.K. officials stated.  An Australian cameraman and three Kurdish soldiers died when a bomber blew up his taxi at a checkpoint in northern Iraq.

U.S. Apache attack helicopters attacked Iraq’s elite Republican Guard units  in an intense firefight.  The helicopters encountered  anti-aircraft fire about 60 miles south of Baghdad.  New explosions jolted the Iraqi capital and Mosul.  Twelve U.S. soldiers are believed captured or killed by Iraqi guerrilla forces outside the southern city of An Nasiriyaan an Army spokesman stated.  Iraqi troops inflicted casualties on U.S. Marines  in an ambush in the southeastern city of Nasiriya.  The Al-Jazeera TV network broadcast pictures of what appear to be five U.S. soldiers killed or captured in Iraq  To Date casualties:  16 U.K. and 9 U.S. military personnel

March 24-25, 2003

U.S. troops battled Iraqi forces outside Nasiriya as coalition forces attempt to secure key Euphrates River bridges.  Pentagon officials confirmed two Apache helicopter pilots were taken prisoner.  Iraqi troops have ambushed coalition forces by faking an intention to surrender or dressing in civilian clothes.   U.S. soldiers closing in on Baghdad and are less than 60 miles from capital, coalition planes and helicopters pounded Iraqi positions to clear a path toward the capital for armor and ground personnel.  Eight Iraqi missiles were fired against Kuwait by Iraqi forces but Patriot missiles destroyed six of the incoming missiles, U.S. military officials said, the two others landed in southern Iraq. A group of US Apache helicopters encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire at Karbala, about 60 miles south of Baghdad.  Resistance has picked up in the last few days especially in attempts to shoot down the choppers.

Bloody battles raged in Nasiriya and Najaf pentagon officials stated.  U.S.-led coalition forces killed an estimated 200 Iraqis.  Three days of sporadic fighting has been reported in Southern Iraq.  According to US reports US Marines seized a hospital in Nasiriya and captured nearly 170 Iraqi soldiers who had been staging military operations from the facility.  British troops turned back a “battalion-sized” counterattack by Iraqi forces southeast of Basra and destroyed about 20 armored vehicles.  US air assaults are limited due to high winds and limit their bombing to Iraqi Republican guard positions.  Sand Storms have been complicating operations for Coalition forces.  To Date casualties:  43 U.K. and  U.S. military personnel

March 26-27, 2003

U.S. war planners may have miscalculated the strength and capabilities of Iraq’s paramilitary fighters, the Saddam Fedayeen, one Pentagon official stated. Over 1,000 U.S. paratroopers dropped into Northern Iraq in a Kurdish-controlled area. The paratroopers, from the U.S. Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade, secured an airfield for coalition use. Securing the airfield will allow more coalition troops and armor to be brought in to maintain control of the area and secure a launching pad for future attacks.  U.S. Central Command confirmed precision-guided weapons were used to attack nine missiles and launchers in a residential area of Baghdad.  British aircraft bombed a column of about 70 Iraqi armored vehicles as it made its way south of Basra toward Umm Qasr, a port city now under coalition control.

U.S.-led forces unleashed  some of their heaviest bombardments on Baghdad overnight, clouds of smoke rose into the air. The air strikes came as coalition forces opened up a northern front and their campaign in the south continued.  Pentagon sources said two 4,500-pound GBU-37 “bunker-buster” bombs were dropped Thursday on a target in Baghdad from a B-2 stealth bomber. It marked the first time the bombs have been used in this war.  Improved weather let U.S. planes focus air strikes on Republican Guard units south and northwest of Baghdad, Pentagon sources said.  After falling under constant fire for 72 hours, the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division fighting near Najaf got a break Thursday.  British forces near Basra are facing heavy resistance.  To Date casualties:  47 U.K. and  U.S. military personnel

March 28-31, 2003

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Syria is shipping military supplies, including night-vision goggles, into Iraq. “We consider such trafficking as hostile acts,” he said.  Saddam Hussein’s regime controls only a small portion of Iraq, President Bush said.  Huge waves of coalition soldiers were dropped deep into Iraq in what is being called the longest helicopter-borne air assault operation ever.  British military reported thousands of civilians trying to flee Basra Friday were fired upon by Iraqi paramilitaries.  A missile fired from Iraq struck near a Kuwait City shopping mall over the weekend., It was the first time the capital was hit since the war began.  Iraq has attempted to lob missiles  prior with little or no success. Patriot missiles destroyed an Iraqi missile Saturday afternoon headed toward Kuwait, Kuwaiti officials said.

On Sunday US military bombed apartment complexes in Baghdad where suspected government officials are residing.  Four U.S. soldiers were killed Saturday morning when an Iraqi suicide bomber attacked a checkpoint in the town of Najaf.  U.S. Marines and Iraqi fighters fought on both sides of the Euphrates River on Saturday, waging what was reported as significant fire battles for the city of Nasiriya.

The U.S. stepped up air strikes against Republican Guard troops in some of the heaviest days of bombing in the 11-day war. Pentagon sources say about 800 strike sorties were flown Sunday alone, with more than 60 percent aimed at troops south of Baghdad in an attempt to soften resistance for ground forces that are approaching the area.  A U.S. Marine helicopter crashed in Southern Iraq Sunday, killing three and injuring one, the U.S. Central Command reported.  U.S. war planners underestimated Iraqi forces and are now re-writing battle plans, veteran war correspondent Peter Arnett told Iraqi TV in an interview that aired Sunday.  This report was one of the most controversial statements made by a member of the media.  NBC News issued a statement supporting Arnett, saying that Arnett gave the interview to Iraqi TV as a “professional courtesy” and that his remarks “were analytical in nature and were not intended to be anything more.“

A barrage of air assault on Iraqi positions by coalition aircraft continued Monday, targeting Republican Guard divisions defending Baghdad, the headquarters of the Fedayeen Saddam paramilitary and a presidential compound were targeted according to reports.  In 12 days of combat, coalition forces have used more than 8,000 precision-guided munitions against Iraq — about 3,000 of them in the past three days, a U.S. military spokesman said.  Central Command sadly reported that U.S. soldiers fired on a van carrying women and children when it failed to stop at a military checkpoint near Najaf.  7 Iraqi’s were killed and 2 wounded.  It appeared that they were trying to seek safety away from the war.  In another incident, A U.S. Marine shot and killed an Iraqi prisoner of war after the man rushed him and struggled for his gun during an interrogation.  Using information from locals, coalition special operation forces are attacking “regime complexes” around Iraq, U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks said Monday.  To Date casualties:  68 coalition military personnel.

April 1-3, 2003

U.S. forces have started a major ground offensive against at least two Republican Guard divisions south of the Iraqi capital. U.S. forces are engaging Iraqi Republican Guard troops in a major fight in Karbala, according to a Pentagon official. This could be the start of the ground war assault on Baghdad.   In other parts of Iraq marines were going block by block in Nasiriya on Wednesday morning, weeding out and firing on paramilitary units loyal to Saddam Hussein.  U .S. Central Command announced that Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, 19, who was listed as missing after an ambush near Nasiriya March 23, has been rescued inside Iraq.

U.S. troops are nearing Baghdad after beating back Iraqi Republican Guard units in what one officer called a “quick-moving” battle, military field commanders said. The family of  U.S. Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, 19, rescued in a special operations raid on a hospital stated she has arrived at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in southwestern Germany for treatment. She suffered two broken legs, both apparently from gunshot wounds.  The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force continued its assault on Republican Guard’s Baghdad Division, capturing a bridge and crossing the Tigris River Wednesday. Air Force Maj. Gen. Stanley McChrystal said the Baghdad and Medina divisions are “no longer credible forces.”  Iraqi forces are using a historic mosque in Najaf as a covert base of operation, U.S. Central Command said Wednesday. Iraqi soldiers are operating from the gilded dome of the tomb of Ali, which Shiite Muslims venerate as the burial site of the prophet Muhammad’s son-in-law.  Pentagon officials said Wednesday a U.S. Army  blackhawk helicopter with 11 soldiers aboard was shot down by small arms fire near Karbala, killing seven.  The four others were rescued.

Iraqi authorities began turning out the lights in Baghdad and closing all checkpoints as US forces begin an assault on Saddam International Airport.  It appears that US forces are ready for the final push into the capital.  The 101st Airborne Division took control of Najaf and isolated Iraqi forces in that area, the Army said. Near the southern city of Samawa, the 82nd Airborne Division launched “surprise attack” on paramilitary forces attempting to organize north of the city, the Army said.  British forces late Wednesday and early Thursday bombarded Iraqi forces around Basra and Zubayr with long-range artillery and rockets.  To Date casualties:  81 coalition military personnel.

April 4-9, 2003

U.S. forces are holding Baghdad’s airport, 12 miles outside the city center, but they are still facing sporadic resistance there, Maj. Gen. Stanley McChrystal said Friday.  Coalition forces fought Friday to maintain control around Saddam International Airport, renamed Baghdad International Airport by coalition forces.  Videotape aired Friday by Lebanese Broadcasting Corp. showed a man who appeared to be Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein walking through the streets of Baghdad in the midst of an excited, cheering crowd.  At this point it is unclear as to whether or not it is the dictator or one of his personal doubles he has been known to use in the past.  Some 2,500 Iraqi soldiers with the Republican Guard’s Baghdad Division have surrendered to U.S. Marines between Kut and Baghdad, said Capt. Frank Thorp, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command.  Three coalition soldiers were killed and two wounded in a car bomb attack at a western Iraq checkpoint overnight Friday, according to U.S. Central Command.  Kurdish forces captured the town of Khazar in northern Iraq Friday after more than a day of fighting.

After securing the airport, U.S. forces pushed into downtown Baghdad Saturday and encountered sporadic resistance, Maj. Gen. Victor Renuart said.  Baghdad residents fled the city in droves, according to reporters in the area. U.S. military officials said some Iraqi officers were slipping into civilian convoys heading to Jordan and Syria.  The U.S. First Marine Expeditionary Force engaged in “hand-to-hand” combat Saturday with Iraqi infantry in southeast Baghdad, U.S. Central Command said.  Iraq’s information minister Saturday denied reports that U.S. Marines and soldiers were in Baghdad, saying the Republican Guard “slaughtered” U.S. forces at the city’s airport.  Explosions were heard and seen in Baghdad. Coalition aircraft are now flying at all times over the city to protect coalition ground troops, a U.S. military official said.  Predator and Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles are patrolling Baghdad looking for targets and conducting reconnaissance, a U.S. official said.

For the second straight day, U.S. Army forces Sunday conducted reconnaissance missions into downtown Baghdad, engaging pockets of Iraqi fighters, U.S. Central Command said.  Iraq’s information minister insisted Iraq was making progress in the war, touting the destruction of U.S. tanks and helicopters and claiming U.S. forces at Baghdad’s airport had been beaten.  Iraqi forces were meeting in mosques, hospitals and schools in Baghdad, U.S. officials said.

U.S. tanks rumbled into Baghdad Monday, reportedly seizing two of Saddam Hussein’s palaces and toppling a huge statue of the Iraqi leader.  Iraq’s Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf stood in the streets of Baghdad Monday morning amid the U.S. raid on the capital, issuing denials of coalition advances.  British forces made their largest incursion into Basra on Monday, setting up a base inside in Iraq’s second-largest city.  The body of Ali Hassan al-Majeed, the first cousin of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein known as “Chemical Ali,” has been found in Basra, a British military spokesman said.  Irregular Iraqi forces, some wearing women’s clothing, ambushed a U.S. Marine platoon Monday in Diwaniyah, but the U.S. unit escaped without casualties, Marines said.  U.S. military bombed a building in Baghdad Monday based on information that senior Iraqi officials were there, U.S. officials said. U.S. officials said they don’t know who might have killed in the attack, including Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his two sons.

After the three-week mark, coalition forces were moving “at will” within and around Baghdad, Pentagon officials reported.  The city contains only small pockets of resistance and has been isolated from the rest of the country.  Key buildings and military personnel have been disconnected.  50 miles South of Baghdad the US military is reporting that the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division battled Iraqi forces in a fierce firefight Tuesday in Hillah.  A day after coalition aircraft forces were seen regularly over the skies of Baghdad, Pentagon officials announced that coalition forces now control the skies over the capital city, as well as the rest of the country.  To Date casualties:  122 coalition military personnel.

April 10-14, 2003

Even with the fall of Baghdad, coalition troops still face organized resistance from Iraqi forces near Mosul and Tikrit, the Pentagon said Thursday.  A suicide bomber with explosives strapped to his body blew himself up at a Marine checkpoint in Baghdad late Thursday, wounding four Marines, U.S. military officials said.  One Marine was killed and 22 others were wounded in fighting Thursday after Marines went to the Imam Mosque in north-central Baghdad where senior Iraqi leaders were believed to be meeting. U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Victor Renuart said there was a “fairly heavy firefight” in which all the Iraqi forces were either killed or captured.  Coalition special operations forces are conducting “direct action” missions against regime forces in Qa’im in western Iraq along the Syrian border, U.S. Central Command said.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Friday the looting in Baghdad was a result of “pent-up feelings” of oppression and that it would subside as Iraqis adjusted to life without Saddam Hussein.  Tikrit could be the last stronghold of Hussein’s regime.  Coalition forces discovered two sites Friday in which explosives were being packed into leather motorcycle jackets and children’s dolls for use in suicide attacks, U.S. officials said. U.S. Marines thwarted an attempted suicide bombing in Baghdad on Friday, U.S. military officials said.  An cease-fire was signed by the commander of the Iraqi army’s 5th Corps in Mosul with U.S. Special Forces, U.S. Central Command said.  Deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s birthplace of Tikrit is “taking a pounding” from coalition airstrikes, U.S. Central Command said. 

Residents of Kut, about 40 miles southeast of Baghdad, peacefully welcomed U.S. Marines as the city came under coalition control Saturday after talks between civic leaders and U.S. officials, Marine sources said.

Marines attacked about 2,500 Iraqi fighters loyal to deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussen in sporadic fighting Sunday inside Tikrit, the last major Iraqi city not under coalition control.  Gen. Tommy Franks said Sunday the Saddam Hussein government in Iraq is now an “ex-regime,” but stopped short of declaring victory. Iraq’s army has been “destroyed” and “there is no regime command and control,” but resistance from militia and foreign fighters remain.  While some fighting in Iraq continues, the major battles appear to be over, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday, just over a month after the start of the military campaign to topple the regime of Saddam Hussein.

May 1, 2003

On May 1, 2003 President George Bush from the deck of the US carrier USS Abraham Lincoln said that the end of major combat is over in Iraq.

Why Iraq invaded Kuwait
During the Iraq-Iran War, which was waged from 1980 until 1988, Kuwait had heavily funded Iraq’s military. By the time the war ended, Iraq was not in a financial position to repay the approximately $14 billion which it had borrowed from Kuwait to finance its war. Kuwait’s was not interested in forgiving the debt and this created strains in the relationship between the two Arab countries. Several meetings were held between the Kuwaiti and Iraqi leaders but they were unable to break the deadlock between the two. After the failure of the talks, Iraq tried repaying its debts by raising the prices of oil through OPEC’s oil production cuts. Kuwait, a member of the OPEC, prevented a global increase in petroleum prices by increasing its own petroleum production. This was seen by many in Iraq as an act of aggression, further distancing the countries.

Iraq , led by Saddam Hussein dictatorship, in 1990 accused Kuwait of using a technique known as slant drilling in the huge Iraq-Kuwait shared Rumaila oil field. Iraq claimed that Kuwait was stealing revenue from the Iraqi people. To Justify his looming invasion Saddam Hussein further claimed Kuwait as a natural part of Iraq that was carved out illegally by British Imperialism. Iraq’s forces began to built up along Kuwait’s border in the days prior to the invasion. Then in August , 1990 the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait began. Even amidst the tensions, Kuwait’s military was not prepared for this war. Iraqi revolutionary guards and commando units began the assault that lasted only two days. Some members of Kuwait’s ruling family were murdered while others escaped to Saudi Arabia. A new puppet government was immediately set up awaiting annexation into Iraq

The UN and Coalition Response.

Patriot missile defense systems were set up to protect Israel and Saudi Arabia from scud missile attacks. 39 scuds were lobbed into Israeli territory. It was an attempt to widen the war and to get more Arab support. Israel remained on the sidelines.

The UN condemned the actions of the Iraqi regime and ordered for an immediate withdrawal from Kuwait within hours after the invasion. On August 3, the Arab League passed it’s own resolution and wanted themselves to solve the issue within the Arab League and warned against foreign intervention. Saddam Hussein did not heed the orders and continued to rampage from within Kuwait’s borders. The next few months saw some negotiations but Iraqi demands were basically unlikely and unachievable.

On August 7th the first US troops arrived in Saudi Arabia under operation Dessert Shield in order to protect Saudi Arabia from Iraqi growing vigor and hostility. A coalition was being formed and in the end approximately 33 nations contributed some form of troops. The Coalition included forces from Arab countries like Saudi Arabia, United Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and others in the region. Europeans included Great Britain, Denmark, France, Germany and others. Asia provided troops from Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and others. Africa sent troops from Morocco, Niger and others. It was truly a coalition from around the world. A deadline of January 15, 2001 at midnight for Iraq to withdraw. They still refused.

On January 17, 2001 US Apache helicopter began taking out Iraqi radar sights. This was followed by bombers and fighter jets eliminating targets throughout Kuwait and Iraq. This was quickly achieved, and for the duration of the war, Coalition aircraft could operate largely unchallenged. Despite Iraq’s better-than-expected anti-aircraft capabilities, only one coalition aircraft was lost. The first week of the air war saw a few Iraqi sorties; but these did little damage, and thirty-eight Iraqi Migs were shot down by Coalition planes. Soon after, the Iraqi Air Force began fleeing to Iran, with 115 to 140 aircraft flown to Iran. Coalition forces completely ruled the skies.

On February 23, 1991 The US and Coalition forces launched ground attacks for the first time in the war. The achievement of air superiority made the ground war more acceptable to military advisors. American M1 Abrahams proved to be too much for the leftover cold war Soviet T-72 Iraqi tanks. GPS and other modern electronic hardware including night vision enabled the coalition troops to dissemble the Iraqi ground troops in easy fashion. The last thing the Iraqi army wanted was to be in a cluster. Specials forces by the end of January were already inside Iraq providing intelligence and destroying fiber optics and other communication abilities. It was a bitter pill for the Iraqi military from beginning to end. As the Iraqi military withdrew from Kuwait they set fires to Kuwaiti oil fields that continue to burn long after the war. Many of the Iraqi Revolutionary Guards were killed trying to run away from Coalition forces.

Post War Iraq: Desert Storm

Iraq No Fly Zone Established After Desert Storm

The Coalition casualties were much lower than expected. Original projections had casualties in the tens of thousands. The coalition suffered 378 total with 147 of them being American.
At the end of the war economic sanctions were imposed by the United Nations. The economic sanctions were intended to compel Saddam to dispose of weapons of mass destruction. Critics estimate that more than 500,000 Iraqi children died as a result of the sanctions. The U.S. and the UK declared no-fly-zones over Kurdish northern and Shiite southern Iraq to oversee the Kurds and southern Shiites that were at risk from prosecution from Saddam Hussein’s regime. For years leading up to the second Iraq War Iraq would attempt to shoot down planes that protected the zones. The end result was more destruction for Iraqi military. Saddam’s rage did not stop there, throughout Iraq his vengeance was brought upon his own people. He prosecuted Shiites from the South and Kurds from the North. Uprisings based on alleged support by American forces in the South by Shiite Iraqis and in The North by Iraqi Kurds ended in the remaining Republican Guard crushing them. In the mountains to the East of Halabja, the Islamic Militant group Ansar al-Islam occupied a small enclave. Saddam enabled this group to wreak terror on the Kurds. The atrocities of his regime had traumatized and placed fear in Iraqi citizens.

Ansar al-Islam: a.k.a. Ansar al-Sunnah Partisans of Islam,Helpers of Islam, Kurdish Taliban

Back Ground Information
Ansar al-Islam (AI) is a radical Islamist group of Iraqi Kurds and Arabs who have vowed to establish an independent Islamic state in Iraq. The group was formed in September 2001. In the fall of 2003, a statement was issued calling all jihadists in Iraq to unite under the name Ansar al- Sunnah (AS). Since that time, it is likely that AI has posted all claims of attack under the name Ansar al-Sunnah. AI is closely allied with al-Qa’ida and Abu Mus‘ab al- Zarqawi’s group, Tanzim Qa’idat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (QJBR) in Iraq. Some members of Ansar al-IslamI trained in al-Qa’ida camps in Afghanistan, and the group provided safe haven to al-Qa’ida fighters before Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Since Operation Iraqi Freedom, Ansar al-Islam has become one of the leading groups engaged in anti-Coalition attacks in Iraq and has developed a robust propaganda campaign to attract new members and combatants.  Ansar al-Islam was established in December 2001 after a merger between Jund al-Islam, led by Abu Abdallah al-Shafi’i and the Islamic Movement splinter group led by Mullah Krekar. Both leaders are believed to have served in Afghanistan. The group is based in Biyarah and surrounding areas near the border with Iran. Though the group was dated officially to December 2001 by the US government, the group – Ansar al-Islam – emerged just days before the Sept. 11 attacks on the US. It delivered a fatwa, or manifesto, to the citizens in mountain villages against “the blasphemous secularist, political, social, and cultural” society there, according to Kurdish party leaders. Reports ealry on before the US and Coalition invasion of Iraq had Ansar al- Islam with ties to Saddam Hussein’s regime.

Ansar al-Islam is considered a very conservative branch of Islam. Their beliefs are comparable to that of the Taliban in Afghanistan. In their early days of inception Ansar al-Islam fortified a number of villages along the Iranian border, with Iranian artillery support. The local villagers were subjected to harsh sharia laws; musical instruments were destroyed and singing was forbidden. The only school for girls in the area was destroyed, and all pictures of women removed from merchandise labels. Sufi shrines were desecrated and members of the Kakkai (a non-Muslim Kurdish religious group) were forced to convert to Islam, flee or die. Local authorities claim that the group seeks to expand the area under its control by undermining the local administration, with the ultimate goal of imposing rule under Islamic law over all of the northern part of the country. The group restricted non-Islamic worship, imposed severe restrictions on public behavior, and administered all civil affairs under an extreme interpretation of Islamic laws.

Krekar allegedly was a link between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein’s regime. The association with Saddam was based out of necessity: Saddam knew that between his horrific attacks in Kurdistan and the U.S. protective role in that area, he could not reestablish the Baath party there. Saddam allowed Saudi-financed organizations to introduce Wahhabism into Kurdistan. Krekar arrived on the scene around 1989. He also brought new atrocities onto the kurds of Iraq that shocked the rest of Islamic world with strict and extreme number of Sharia law based beheadings and murders of non Wahhabi Kurdish leaders. Given name is Najumuddin Faraj Ahmad. He is believed by many to be a Saudi posing as a Kurd. He trained in Afghanistan with Osama bin Laden and has described bin Laden as the “jewel in the crown of Islam.”

The most interesting fact about Mullah Krekar is that today he runs his affairs from Norway, where he has been a political refugee since 1991. On December 4, the Washington Post ran a piece about Krekar. The report acknowledged that Krekar has “frequently slipped back into . . . northern Iraq to lead an armed separatist movement called Ansar al-Islam, which has carried out attacks on civilians and U.S. troops.”

Leadership and Organization
About 700- 1000 members in central and northern Iraq. The group receives funding, training, equipment, and combat support from al-Qaida and other international jihadist backers. Ansar al-Islam has an extensive network in Europe organizing finance and support for armed attacks within Iraq. Several members of such groups have been arrested in European countries such as Germany, Sweden, and Norway. It is reported that in late 2003 that Abu Abdallah al-Shafi’i (a.k.a. Warba Holiri al-Kurdi) had taken over the leadership of Ansar al Islam from Mullah Krekar, who as of June 2004 was still under house arrest in Norway. Al-Shafi’i also claimed that the name of the organization had changed from Ansar al Islam to an undisclosed name.

Major Acts of Terrorism

Ansar al-Islam recent activities include: razing of beauty salons, burning a schools for girls, and murdered women in the streets for refusing to wear the burqa. It is also responsible for ambushing and killing of 42 Kurdish soldiers. Ansar al-Islam is in a state of war with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). It was responsible for the assassination in 2001 of a senior official of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Franso Hariri, and for the attempted killing of Burhan Salih, head of the PUK-led Iraqi Kurdistan regional government. However, Ansar al-Islam is not in armed confrontation with the KDP.

AI continues to conduct attacks against Coalition forces, Iraqi Government officials and security forces, and ethnic Iraqi groups and political parties. AI members have been implicated in assassinations and assassination attempts against Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) officials and Coalition forces, and also work closely with both al- Qa’ida operatives and associates in QJBR. AI has also claimed responsibility for many high profile attacks, including the simultaneous suicide bombings of the PUK and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) party offices in Ibril on February 1, 2004, and the bombing of the US military dining facility in Mosul on December 21, 2004.

Ansar al-Islam Links on the Web:

 Ansar al-Islam A backgrounnd from Iraqi News

 Ansar al-Islam Council on Foreign Relations background report.

 Ansar Al-Islam: Iraq’s Al-Qaeda Connection Ansar al-Islam, an al-Qaeda affiliate active in Iraqi Kurdistan since September 2001, is a prototype of America’s enemies in the “war on terror.”

 Saddam’s Ambassador to al-Qaeda  Before recounting details from my January 29 interview, some caution is necessary. Al-Shamari’s account was compelling and filled with specific information that would either make him a skilled and detailed liar or a man with information that the U.S. public needs to hear.

Who is Muqtada al-Sadr?
If you read the newspaper or listen to television news reports at all you have probably heard the name of Muqtada al-Sadr. He is an extremely bold young Shiite militia leader that has been the focus of the U.S. and Iraqi government struggle to reign in the Shia population in one of the largest urban slum areas in South Baghdad. Approximately 2 million shiites are crowded into Sadr City which was previously known before the fall of Saddam Hussein as Saddam City. He lacks the age of the usual religious leaders in the Muslim world as he is approximately 35 years of age. However, what he does possess is a blood line of some of the most influential Shia religious clerics in Iraq over the past three decades.. His father, the Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, was the most powerful Shiite cleric in Iraq in the 1990s. Muqtada al-Sadr was forced underground in February 1999 after Saddam’s agents killed his father and two brothers. He inherited the network of schools and charities set up by his father, along with the allegiance of many of his late father’s followers. His uncle, Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr, was a leading Shiite activist who was executed by Saddam Hussein’s forces in 1980.

Al-Sadr and his Imam Mehdi Army

Al-Sadr has a dedicated following in many Shia cities outside of his home base of Sadr city in Baghdad. He has followers in Basra, Najaf, Nasiriya, Karbala, and Kufa, where he regularly preaches his strong flavor of anti U.S. sentiment.. It is this reach that has made him one of the most important non-elected leaders in the new Iraq. He has strong allies inside of Iran where he is believed to have taken refuge in 2007 to avoid arrest by U.S. and Iraqi government forces. He has stepped away from the lead of the elder Shiite leadership that have been working toward the adoption of the new Shia led government in Iraq. He has been at odds with the leading senior cleric, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani for the hearts and minds of the most fanatical members of the Shia religion in the country. Like so many other Islamist fundamentalist leaders al-Sadr has been widely accepted by young impoverished youth that are frustrated with their current situation in the new Iraq. They soak in the anti-American sermons and in their minds it creates an urgency to remove the foreign forces from their soil if they are to ever have a better life for themselves and their families. Al-Sadr has a very tight level of control over his followers that appears almost cult like. They are without a doubt willing to lay down their lives for the charismatic cleric. The Imam Mehdi Army is a militia that has used violence often against U.S. troops and rival Shia clerics that support the U.S. sponsored Iraqi government.

On 18 July 2003 al-Sadr’s provided a sermon in Al-Najaf to denounce the members of Iraq’s new U.S.-appointed Governing Counci as “puppets” to America. On this day he also announced his plans to form a militia. This militia would be called the Imam Mehdi Army. He when on to announce his own government during his sermon in Al-Kufah on 10 October 2003. Muqtada al-Sadr explained his intention to form an Islamic state in Iraq by establishing a shadow government there, complete with ministries. One would have to believe that he is modeling his group after Hisballah in Lebanon. Fighting broke out in Karbala on 13 October 2003 when al-Sadr’s men attacked supporters of moderate Shi’ite Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani near the Imam Hussein shrine. He established control over his army and began deploying the militia to conduct murders, attack Iraqi security forces, retalitate against Sunni groups attacking Shia neighborhoods, and clashing with U.S. forces .

Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) spokesman Dan Senor publicly revealed 05 April 2004 that an Iraqi judge has issued an arrest warrant for Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in connection with the 10 April 2003 murder of Shi’ite Grand Ayatollah Abd al-Majid al-Khoi at a mosque in Najaf.

The cleric challenged U.S. led coalition forces after they closed his “Al-Hawzah” newspaper on charges of incitement and arrested an al-Sadr aide on charges relating to the al-Khoi killing. The situation escalated when it was revealed that the Iraqi judge had also issued the warrant for al-Sadr’s arrest in al-Khoi’s assassination outside the Imam Ali Mosque in Al-Najaf.

By 2004 al-Sadr’s followers had elevated him to the rank of hujjat al-Islam, a “Sign of Islam” the third rank from the top in the Shi’i clerical hierarchy.

In the past 4 years al-Sadr and his Mehdi Army have clashed on many occasions with Iraqi and U.S. military forces. He has played in effective game of cat and mouse by moving around and leaving many without knowledge of his whereabouts. In 2007 he reportedly spent a great deal of time in Iran during the surge of U.S. troops to get control over the country. Sadr City has witnessed incursions by both U.S. and Coalition troops but it appears as of late that the Shia led government make moves to hinder shutting down Muqtada al Sadr’s militia. As stated the organization has taken on a role similar to that of Hizballah in Lebanon. The Shia have relied on the Mehdi army to protect them against Sunni insurgent groups as well as tainted Iraqi police.

The threat of a major confrontation with al-Sadr and the Mehdi Army in eminent. It may not happen while the U.S. is present but eventually al-Sadr will attempt to become the Kohmeinie of Iraq.  In the past 4 years al-Sadr and his Mehdi Army have clashed on many occasions with Iraqi and U.S. military forces.  He has played in effective game of cat and mouse by moving around and leaving many without knowledge of his whereabouts.  In 2007 he reportedly spent a great deal of time in Iran during the surge of U.S. troops to get control over the country.  Sadr City has witnessed incursions by both U.S. and Coalition troops but it appears as of late that the Shia led government make moves to hinder shutting down Muqtada al Sadr's militia.  As stated the organization has taken on a role similar to that of Hizballah in Lebanon.  The Shia have relied on the Mehdi army to protect them against Sunni insurgent groups as well as tainted Iraqi police.  The threat of a major confrontation with al-Sadr and the Mehdi Army in eminent.  He incites hostilities toward the government and U.S. troops.  He has proven to be a master of manipulation as he has been able to exist this long without being arrested or killed.  In the long run to let him create this government within a state is very dangerous.  If left unchecked the Iraqi government can not and will never have control of the country as long as this type of group is allowed to threaten the use of violence when ever al-Sadr disagrees with the direction of the new Shia Government.  It is lobbying by the threat of violence and the fear of the results of this type of disastrous confrontation.  He has formed a strategic alliance with Shia groups in Iran which is more than likely supplying the IEDs that putting so many U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians at risk.