Who are the insurgents in Iraq?

Question

Are they opposing Muslim denominations? Are they "terrorists" from neighboring nations?

Would you call what's happening there anarchy? When does it become civil war?

Answer 1

the insurgents are a diverse group.
we have salafist/wahabbists- the extremists who hate shias who started this sectarian war in iraq like abu musab az zarqawi.

we have foreign jihadis who come from neighboring countries like saudi arabia, jordan and syria who come to fight americans just for the sake of jihad and for what they see as an illegal occupation by american forces.

we have iraqi nationalists who are proud of their country and heritage and see the american occupation as a disrespect to their country.

we have former ba'thist Saddam loyalists who lost everything when saddam fell from power.

We have former iraqi republican guard and agents, soldiers, ect. who are knoledgeable about warfare and seek to use their talents to liberate their country.

we have insurgents who have nothing to live for, their families are dead so they fight because there is nothing else. Some of these people may also be foreigners and sometimes this type will become suicide bombers.

we have local moderate people who have turned into insurgents because they have no electricity and running water and the americans promise to rebuild their country has not been kept.

we have people that still have no jobs so to take up jihad or become policemen by day and turn insurgent by night.

we have al sadr's militia, a majority shia group who have been suppressed and killed by saddam's regime who are now supported by Iran and want to make sure they get a big share in the new government.

we also have ethnic kurdish seperatists in the north who have been oppressed by saddam and the turkish government. They are a sunni people with no land all they want is a country to call their own.

as a result of the sectarian war that was started by al qaeda in
Iraq leader zarqawi, we now have sunni and shia gangs who engage in tit for tat sectarian violence, kidnappings, and car bombs mostly in baghdad.

If I left anyone out, I apologize.

I did leave someone out...

we also have religious muslims who see the war in Iraq as a war against Islam and therefore fight to defend Islam.

We also have sunni iraqis that don't want the shia to control the government and accuse them of cooperating with the US so they attack policemen and iraqi national guard who mostly consist of the shia.

and we have people who hate america and all americans for the obvious reasons, you know american supported israeli oppression of the palestinians, invasion of afghanistan, invasion of iraq. the lebanon-israeli skirmish, that kinda stuff.

What is my assessment of iraq now? Its a big sh1t sandwich and we're all gonna have to take a bite. - Full Metal Jacket

Answer 2

The insurgents in Iraq are a combination of factions of which include: Muslim Extremist Groups (ie Al Qaeda), Shiite Muslim Groups (ie Sadr's Militia), and Sunni Muslim Groups. Muslim Extremist Groups are typically foreigners and frequently utilize terrorist tactics. Shiite and Sunni Muslim Groups are typically Iraqis who fight because of religious or sectarian issues or because the US presence has caused damage to their home, family, and honor.

There may be denial that the actions of certain personnel within the US military has helped to create the problem. This is not to say that our servicemen and women are not competant but to say that bad apples and our military doctrine (thus affecting what the soldiers are trained to do) helped ignite and feed the flames of insurgency.

The US military has been using overwhelmingly kinetic methods in the invasion and occupation of Iraq. When a soldier comes in contact with the enemy, they are taught to place more firepower on the enemy via air support, armor support, and/or artillery. But when in urban areas, the superior firepower used by the US military tends to cause damage to people's property, and may cause collateral damage. In US counter-insurgency operations, the use of cordon and search and raids has caused damage to people's property but also damages people's honor. Troops physically dominate suspects, doing so in front of their families. They also mentally terrify suspects and their families with their weapons and combat armor (unintentionally, but it still does). Imagine now that the Chinese army was to invade and occupy the the United States. They blew up your home or business and killed members of your family (as part of unfortunate collateral damage). They come and arrest you in front of your family, tossing you to the floor and put their feet over your head. They scare your family with their weapons and screaming words you don't understand. Would your response be different than the Iraqis who fight the Americans for the same reasons?

I would not call what is happening there complete anarchy because there is still a government, but it is darn close to one due to the security problems and the ensuing violence and crime that are rampant. Civil war is when factions within a country fight for dominance. The situation in Iraq is a small scale civil war since there is violence between the Shia and Sunni.

A point I would like to make is that insurgents is not a fancy word for terrorist. Not all insurgents are terrorists and not all terrorists are insurgents. While insurgents may employ terrorist tactics, they don't have too. However, it is what many insurgencies have done (but don't confuse that with all).

Answer 3

The insurgency in Iraq would be made up of citizens, a portion of whom are formar military or police. There is no one insurgent group, but many smaller ones each viaing for power and with different goals and agends. Some are opposed to the government change, some are simply opposed to having forgien soldiers on their soil. Still others are interested in religous or sectarian changes. You will notice that more civilians and domestic police, government and military personal are targets of the insurgency than are coalition forces.

Those coming in from other coutries to join the fighting in Iraq could be labeled terrorists in the most basic of ways. In that they are non-sanctioned agents in a foreign nation with the intent to commit violence against a portion of the population in order cause change or instability within that nation's government.

Lastly, with so many groups using violence against each other and the civilian population, with no one group in definate control, it would be safe to label the current situtation in Iraq as a civil war.

Answer 4

They are ex members of Saadams gestapo and fanatical religious sunni terrorists from all over the world who have chosen to travel to Iraq to kill Americans, Brits, and Shi'ite muslims.

To Kanan who described Iraq as a "Great Civilisation" I would remind him that it has only existed as a country since 1930 and is made up of three very different ethnic groups who have been killing and oppressing each other for 60 years.

Answer 5

The insurgents are radical Muslims from neighboring states that do not want to See a democratic process in Iraq, they are afraid that by example it may become contagious.

Answer 6

i am in iraq right now and it is not anarchy. it is not civil war. there are iraqis and other nationals who are here trying to instigate a war but the iraqis for the most part want nothing of it.

Answer 7

It's the Smurfs. They've been hiding in caves for all these years planning their great attack on the "GREAT SATAN" because their show was cancelled and not even played as re-runs...They are opposing all denominations and unless sombody chops Gargamel's head off terrorists will continue to spread their network of terror. It's anarchy all right, never piss off sweet girls like Smurfette........they will come back to haunt you every time...

Answer 8

Insurgents is a fancy word for terrorists. It's the way for our media to downplay what kind of morons we are dealing with.

Answer 9

If your there its the ones shooting at you dummy. If your here its the ones trying to kill you dummy. Watch a News program, read a News paper or a book. Ignorance can be cured, stupidity is the only capital offense in nature, there is no reprieve, no parole, the sentence is death and in most cases it is carried out in a short span of time, hopefully before you've had a chance to procreate.

Answer 10

When someone as far as Americans come all these thousands of miles to invade you with no apparent reason, you have and must resist them. Therefore, it is called resistance, those people are Arabs and Muslims who are defending Iraq, a great civilization that have been pillaged and ransacked by savage Americans.

P.S.
I hope someone invades your little house, torture you, kidnap your wife and kill your son and burn the house to ashes so you feel how the Iraqi people feeling now