Sunni Sheik Working With U.S. In Anbar Killed In Explosion
The most prominent figure in a revolt of Sunni sheiks against al-Qaida in Iraq was killed Thursday in an explosion near his home in Anbar province, police said.
Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha was leader of the Anbar Salvation Council, also known as the Anbar Awakening — an alliance of clans backing the Iraqi government and U.S. forces.
Abu Risha and two of his bodyguards were killed by a roadside bomb, said Col. Tareq Youssef, supervisor of Anbar police.
No group claimed responsibility for the assassination but suspicion fell on al-Qaida in Iraq, which U.S. officials say has suffered devastating setbacks in Anbar thanks to Abu Risha and his fellow sheiks. It's unclear how his death would affect U.S. efforts to organize Sunnis against the terrorist network.
Abu Risha was among a group of tribal leaders who met President Bush earlier this month at al-Asad Air Base in Anbar province. Read more...
The Bush Administration has touted al Anbar as the shining beacon of success in Iraq, so it will be interesting to hear how the president spins this in his nationwide address this evening. ThinkProgress points out that just 10 days ago, Bush was touting their cooperation with the US. Remember how just days after McCain touted the safety of the market he visited, market workers were ambushed and killed? Given how the Arab media covered the meeting between Bush and Abu Risha, (they call him a 'traitor') the timing of this seems less than random.
Bush will say this proves we're making progress but we must stay the course.
"Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha's taking a nap"-Ken Pollack and Michael O'Hanlon
That what I like, people with a Sunni disposition.
The shake of death...
jr @ 2:
There was a panel on the Iraq war today C&L on Cspan and O hanlon was there. I just caught the end of it and supposedly there was a pretty loud protest of some sort as the moderator seemed pretty pissed at the end their time was cut short due to the disruption. Did anyone catch it ?
Also as they filed out one of the ladies in pink was singing a peace song as they filed out.
From what little I heard, it was a Party of Joe wet dream war discussion.
So is the quagmire working yet? Maybe we need more troops and a bigger quagmire.
The insurgency is in it's last throes. Another corner turned.
The Bush Administration would label this guy an Al-Qaeda agent if they thought it would help their case.
anyone , anywhere,
who sides with bush for anything is putting their own life at risk
According to a story on Democracy Now the sheik was a fraud. The story was bogus. What better way to shut up the critics than to "get rid of" the evidence. In this case the sheik.
...the birth pangs of a new Middle East
One of the first lessons in dealing with insurgencies is that two sides will spend less time killing each other than they will killing the moderates, because there is nothing more dangerous to a cause than those who are willing to compromise. That's why there are almost no moderate Palestinians anymore. Both radicals from Palestine and radicals from Israel killed them off in the '50's.
bob @ 10:
I heard that too. He was the recipient of 75 million bucks in reconstruction funds. Hmmmmm. Wonder what happened to the cash.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/09/12/democracy-now-on-the-ground-in-...
The story was also linked to on this site today.
As to the cash, maybe Dick Cheney wanted it back! Was the sheik, maybe, shot n the face, with a duck gun?!
I first have to say that the Sunni group have historically been the more tolerant of the Muslim groups. The Shiite are the ones famed for self flagellation in public. That being said, this is what is being said IN IRAQ by our people about this event:
http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/pol/419807599.html
Photo-Ops kill.
Don't ever, ever get photographed with Bush.
I have admiration for arabs (and persians).
I have met (years ago) a number of members (distant) of the house of saud. (I was in college). I have never met more detestable people in my life. Absolute swine. So much so that I was reminded of the prototypical redneck hillbilly peckerwood in this country. Perhaps the mix of traditional bedoin life and values and vast wealth and power. (Image what would happen if jethro were all powerfull - well I guess that would be Bush)
There is something dangerous with the combining of power, wealth and a trivial mind. I see that in this story. I dont see thoughtful men. I see primal behavior. How is this guy different from prewar saddam? Saddam was primal - a trivial mind with vast power - not thoughtful. (Cunning IS NOT thoughtful)
Bush has power because of pedigree. The Sheiks have power because of where they pitched their tent - oil. (Metaphor) Trivial thoughtless minds in both cases.
P.S.
This is NOT commentary on arabs. It is the same commentary being made in much of the arab world regarding those in power in some countries. Too many thugocracies. Too much power controlled by primal and trivial minds. (Again, like Jethro Bush - cunning but trivial and thoughtless. He understands how, but not why ... or more to the point ... why not. The question of why is answered by primal motivations alone)
Is this the first person that Bush personally knew who's gotten killed in the "war"? Now he can claim personal sorrow and really milk this for all it's worth.
So calm in Anbar. Feel the surge.
AP - 4 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - A crucial ally against al-Qaida was assassinated in Iraq and the U.S. acknowledged little new progress on its war goals, dispiriting developments ahead of President Bush's plea Thursday night for more patience with his strategy.
Oh no he's speaking Tonight??
boosh will follow My Name Is Earl, and IQ's will drop like an anchor accordingly.
Probably Katie Couric's.
Who didn't see this coming?
Everything Bush has touched has turned to $hit. Why should this be any different?
Mission Accomplished? Turning a corner? Bring 'em on? We're kicking ass?
Abdul Sattar Abu Risha was the real architect of the success we are claiming in Anbar province. He didn't do it because he loved us but because he hated al-Qaeda, Among other things, they tried to take away his cigars. He would have rather shared a few cigars with American officers than given them all up because al-Qaeda said so.
I guess the point is that Abu Risha organized Anbar Salvation Council last fall, long before the "Surge" In fact, Donald Rumsfeld was still the Secretary of Defense and George Casey was still the Commanding General in Iraq when Abu Risha first contacted the U.S. Military.
Of course, David Petraeus and George Bush would like to take credit for what was Abu Risha's initiative.
The neo-cons aren't interested in making a peaceful and democratic Iraq. They want chaos as it makes it easier to steal. They steal from our treasury now, they'll be stealing from the Iraqis once they are returned to the stone age, when everyone who remembers how things were before the war, electricity and running water, are dead.
Smack_dab @ 24:
Don't forget final throes.
1975: Hue, Da Nang, Da Lat, Saigon.
2009: Mosul, Tikrit, Fallujah, Baghdad.
Carrot and Shtick @ 23:
I've been saying that for years!
More "progress", eh Busholini?
The Chimp will say Risha's assassination proves that there is still more work to be done in Iraq.
But if we leave now, the sheik will have given the ultimate sacrifice in vain.
I sure do hope Bush does not mention how safe my neighborhood is during his address tonight.
Kiss of death.
Shouldn't a good Muslim have used his left hand to shake hands with Mad George?
Well, it is just more blood that's all just a small price to pay for our long term goals in the middle east, right?
Let's see president Gump work this into his speech tonight.
PROGRESS?!
Maybe Fux Noise should interview the Iraqi government and ask them why they don’t see the rosy picture Fux keeps painting for the booshistas, eh?
he was a boosh collaborator, therefore an enemy of the Iraqis.
I don’t believe the alqaeda bouillschitt that this guy was supposed to help! there is no Al Qaeda in Iraq. there is a group that is now called al qaeda, no relation. betrayus said as much in the hearings. even as a concoction, this is a pitiful story. it’s so convenient that there is an “Al Qaeda” to blame for this.
followup: as betrayus was lying to congress on the send day, his office in baghdad was attacked with missiles. the report I heard on NPR this morning said that: "US officials believe that the missile was from Iran"
It’s convenient that booshitArtist is giving a speech tonight right after an ‘al qaeda in Iraq’ event "assisted by Iran".
Ruthless People @ 7:
If we are always turning a corner, does that mean we're going around in circles?
it's common knowledge in Iraq that if you side with the US lots of people will be gunning for you. Lots of interpreters have been killed. They get paid well but they don't last too long. We gave the sheik lots of money and lots of guns and what did it get him? Muthafucka is DEAD. I wonder where the guns and money are now.
That looks like Geraldo with a head-dress.
Geraldo, are you OK? Check in, Geraldo, please...Geraldo...
He may be dead but sectarian violence is down you see, His death doesen't count because he was shot in the front of the skull not the back!
Sheik your booty, baby and keep your feet on the sunni side of the street
Everything the cheney/bush administration touches turns to shit - for everyone but them, of course. The criminals in the administration tend to get filthy rich.
What a Pandora's Box these treasonous cowards have opened. I am definitely not a fan of Abu Risha, but feel he would still be alive had he not met with bush on the latter's recent photo-op in Iraq.
Impeach the bastards!!
You can't promote democracy in Iraq by arming Sheiks. Sheiks are not democratically elected and they aren't going to support a government that takes away their power. Arming Sunni militias under the control of Sheiks will probably lead to some kind of government where Sheiks control the local government and the central government is going to be some kind of council of Sheiks and Clerics with a leader who may or may not be elected by them.
See what happens when you shake a monkey's hand?
Everything the chimp touches turns to shit. How many more days do we have to put up with this curse??
anon @ 17:
I have worked with many foreign diplomats here in the U.S..
Bush appoints incompetent loyalists. The Saudis appoint incompetent loyalists. Other governments in the Persian Gulf appoint bureaucrats based on their qualifications. For example, I have found that of all the diplomats from Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, the Saudis have the worst grasp of the English language. But, they are loyal to the crown.
The same goes for Bush's appointees from Regent University School of Law (Pat Robertson's School of Law). They are loyal to the crown (lol), but they have terrible grasp of constitutional and international law.
The Saudi royal family has power because of pedigree as well. They have been there since 630 A.D.. Bush's family came from Europe sometime between 1600 and 1800.
The Saudi royal family is thoughtless because of:
1. Wealth. Wealth corrupts and leads to abuses. Wealth is also a source of power. The same goes for the Bush family.
2. Support from foreign governments. The Saudi royal family rules with an iron fist. They are not liked by many in Saudi Arabia, but they are supported and backed by the U.S..
He probably could have fought al Quaida for years but when it was learned that he was associated with the Great Satan.....
Iraq will end up just like Iran as the Sunnis are put to the final solution by the Shiites. More proof that our foreign policies continue to cause more problems than they solve. Yet the Saudis are richer than ever, with oil at $80/barrel, so they could give a shit. And the Pentagon makes out by selling them more weapons to protect the royal family against any opposition. In the meantime, our economy is going into recession, with the dollar at an all time low against the Euro, and a trillion dollar credit card bill hovering over us. But the Dow is up so the top 1% continue to gain while our country becomes a hollowed out gourd.
McDuff,
Regent's Law School is very easy. There's ony one textbook.
Yellowbird @ 15:
Which becomes clearly understandable when you remember that Shia means 'fundamentalist' (literally, 'followers'). And one of the fundamentals is the status of Ali, whose supposed martyrdom is what is commenorated in these blood offerings.
The overwhelming majority of Muslims in the world are Sunni (i.e., NOT as fundamentalist). Linking Shia to flagellation is itself an overgeneralization -- Shiites in the West commonly give blood on that day, rather than whip themselves.
They guy looks a little worried. The handshake of death.
You all miss the point. It was perpetual war from the beginning. Forget everything
you read about mission accomplished, WMD's, "mistakes" involving unguarded weapons dumps,
"mistakes" about too few troops, "mistakes" about firing the Iraqi army, "mistakes" about firing the
civil service, "mistakes" about wholesale looting. You were all led around by the nose. Doesn't it
hurt after awhile? This is why Republicans have to steal the next election. This is what is so good
about being a crime family. You have the power to manufacture your own reality while stupid reality based people
are still asking stupid questions like "why DID we invade Iraq?".
Those other two guys in the picture probably have full beards by now.
How stupid does an Iraqi have to be to get his picture taken with the Chimp?
"there is no God but Allah and al-Qaeda is the enemy of Allah"
Is this al-Qaeda's "a bridge too far" when al-Jazeera reports this kind of stuff ?
Doug @ 39:
actually, he wa blown up and that is no longer a category, so obviously, he's not really dead either.
Bush looks like Alfred E Newman.... what me worry? In all his pictures he looks like an idiot.
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