London Observer: Rebel war spirals out of control as US loses the plot

[Jack Rabbit]

From the London Observer (Sunday supplement of the Guardian Unlimited)
Dated Sunday November 2



Sharp disagreements are emerging between the US and the UK over the exact nature of the Iraqi resistance, amid warnings that the US is losing the intelligence war against the rebels.
After eight days in which Iraqi fighters have scored a series of major blows to the coalition and its Iraqi allies, intelligence and military officials in Iraq and on both sides of the Atlantic are at odds over whether they are fighting a Saddam-led movement or a series of disparate partisan groups. They are just as divided on finding a way to halt the escalating violence . . . .
Most worrying of all is the emergence of a broad, post-Saddam ideology across the groups. And if recent polling in Baghdad is to be believed, it is rapidly gaining currency with ordinary Iraqis. It is crudely simple, insisting that the US-led occupation is an assault against both Islam and the wider Arab nation, that Iraqis must resist and that anyone who assists the occupiers is an enemy as much as US troops.
But it is not only the home-grown resistance that is concerning the coalition. It has also been struggling to prevent a wave of devastating suicide bombings against a variety of targets which Western intelligence officials increasingly believe may be being carried out by foreigners coming to fight the Americans in Iraq.

Read more.

This sounds exactly like what the Left predicted if the Bushies went ahead with their invasion.

[E_Zapata]

1. And the answer to: Aren't things better with Saddam gone now?

is: well, as an Iraqi, I guess Saddam really wasn't all that bad. In comparison.

[pnorman]

2. Here's the specific web-site:

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1075980,00.html

I'm not sure about what "the left" predicted; I recall such predictions were all over the screen. As for myself, I expected more of a "formal" defence; but the circumstantial evidence of MASSIVE payoffs to RG commanders might explain what actually took place. But, speaking again for myself, I really thought that Bush KNEW WHAT THE HELL HE WAS DOING!! Instead, we have this Faith-Based FUCK-UP!!

No, I don't really expect it to happen, but Bush may soon be driven to the thought: "We may have to NUKE that country to save it"!

[pnorman]

3. I have a Google toolbar tacked onto my web browser.

I just hit the Google News button, and the above article came out (3rd item under "World"). It's nice to see this sort of reporting, FINALLY getting a little closer to mainstream.

[IndianaGreen]

4. dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=103&topic_id=19189