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  1. #1
    2ndChildhood
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    Default Political ramifications of Zarqawi's death - from Stratfor

    Here's a paragraph from Stratfor's latest update:
    Interesting - 2C

    Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of the Sunni jihadist organization operating in Iraq, is dead -- killed by Americans. On his death turns the answer to the question posed above: whether the Sunnis are prepared to rein in the insurgency. Two very different explanations for al-Zarqawi's death are possible. To be more precise, the manner in which al-Zarqawi died -- whether by a bomb or a bullet -- is much less important than how the Americans got the intelligence about his location. If it was the result of a free-standing American intelligence operation that managed to subvert someone close to al-Zarqawi, then his death, while important, has no lasting political significance. On the other hand, if the intelligence was provided to the Americans by senior Sunni officials, then al-Zarqawi's death is an indication that the political deal that created the Iraqi government is being translated into concrete actions to bring the violence under control.

  2. #2
    Machine Gunner BadShot's Avatar
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    Along that line of thought, this could explain the recent move by the Iraqi government to discuss bringing the "insurgents" closer into the political fold and process by offering up additional political considerations and amnesty to those folks.

    An odd comment I heard this morning relayed that the Iraqi government considers the insurgent targets of choice (read allied forces) as attacking legitimate military targets while acting in the defense of the country. The long and short of the commentary was that the Iraqi government is leaning towards accepting the stance of the insurgents (home grown ones that is) that allied forces are invaders and occupiers. Nice hu?

    While completely distasteful, the political logic is undeniable. This allows the government to both legitimize these animals and at the same time begin to pit them and the rest of the country against a "common enemy" other than the US and the allied troops... e.g. the foriegn terrorist.

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