The faces of the enemy in Iraq

IN THE NEWS
One of the great failings of the mainstream press (my favorite whipping boy this week, it seems) is its inability to portray the Iraqi insurgency with any degree of specificity. Like any revolutionary movement, it has its familiar elements, as well as its uniquely national characteristics. In this case, it's not even a single movement, but a collection of different groups, often with very different objectives and methods.

The biggest confusion, of course, exists between non-Iraqi terrorists and home-grown Iraqi guerrillas. This line divides groups not only along methods (suicide car bomb attacks are not the same as sniping with RPGs at US troops), but also goals. The "foreign fighters," inasmuch as they are part of al Qaeda or an allied group, want to topple Western influence in the Islamic world altogether and instate some Talibanesque Islamist regime. It's not just the current phase of pan-Islam; it's a pan-Islamist programme they seek to advance, and the occupation of Iraq has given them a bevy of Western targets and Western-created grievances to exploit.

These are not, repeat, not the same groups as, say, Muqtada al-Sadr's now-famous Army of the Mahdi, or other Iraqi insurgent groups. Their goals and methods vary, too, but their cleavages are not as great as the chasm dividing Zarqawi et al. and the Iraqi guerrillas. Recently, the actual Iraqi insurgents collectively denounced the goals and methods of the foreign terrorists--not just PR, but a genuine expression of the distance the insurgents want to put between their cause and that of al Qaeda, Ansar al-Islam, and company.

How are we doing in Iraq? Or, to turn the question around, how are our enemies doing? That all depends on which enemies we're discussing.

The US government, from military briefers in Iraq to White House officials in Washington, don't help the matter. Of course, it's the job of the press to do more than repeat what politicians and bureaucrats tell them. The insurgency, I believe, is the great non-story in Iraq, the one that should be given more prominence in every backgrounder piece, every one- to two-paragraph summary in a news article, or commentary. Instead, we still hear the fiction repeated of some monolithic insurgency.

For some examples of better coverage of the insurgency, click here, here, here, or here. Also, see this article about frictions among terrorist and insurgent groups in Iraq.

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Complain: Wedding anniversary that day fail to get or achieve what one wanted

September 3 is Mr Shen and the wedding anniversary of Mrs Shen, decision of daughter Shenyang young lady comes to parents a surprise. Considering at ordinary times parents is more managing, and do not like grandiose waste, go up at the beginning of the month, miss Shen bought in the group on capacity audience net " cabinet of bright cough up " the bright formula of 2 sea of faceses of dining-room. "Read content, abound completely however, I still am thinking at that time, 68 yuan price can call in cost. " the thought that although the heart is medium,thrill through suspects this, but the person that Miss Shen sees the group is bought already was passed 1000, hesitate none round also bought a piece of ticket.

Wedding anniversary before today, the person that Mrs Shen buys considering the group is more, concern does not have seat, her specially in advance fixed position of a day of preparation. After telephone number is dialed, be informed to be spacing unexpectedly. This thinking is he dial a fault, mrs Shen was dialed a few times afresh according to the information that the group buys a website to send her at that time again, gotten response is remained " this number is spacing " . Mrs Shen heart thinks, the likelihood is too late nobody is received listen, the decision continues to dial a telephone early in the morning the following day. When on September 3 in the morning, when calling the accused to know to be spacing again, mrs Shen does not sit, decision and husband arrive together this dining-room explore after all.

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Taking these interrogative reporters to dial this group to buy the customer service phone of the website, customer service answer says, two Zhou Qian, when the website is informed this inn to cannot continue to offer a group to purchase a formula for the member, in return charge to the member for a short while, and had sent a short message inform everybody of the member, expressed regret. The problem that as to Shenyang the gentleman encounters, the likelihood is at that time did not inform Miss Shen. Do not live website side or can handle this matter actively.

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(Article origin: Emancipatory net - news evening paper)

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