Tall Afar Trades Insurgents for Assassins

News:
In his continued attempts to sell the non-war in Iraq to Americans, President Bush yesterday cited the city of Tall Afar as an example of U.S. and Iraqi forces working together to drive off insurgents, leaving it a beacon of stability and peace. He neglected, however, to check in with the residents of Tall Afar, who tell a different story. While the threat from armed insurgents has lessened, Tall Afar has now seen a rise in sectarian assassinations, bringing closer the specter of an Iraqi civil war. Maybe while Bush officials are dismissing that possibility—claiming, as they do, that it’s all a question of perspective—they should check out one of Iraq’s hottest new products: off-the-shelf terrorism insurance.

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But he offered tough language for Tehran, characterizing it as bent on destroying Israel. "It's a threat to world peace, it's a threat, in essence, to a strong alliance," Bush said. "I made it clear, I'll make it clear again, that we will use military might to protect our ally Israel."

By mtmeggidoMarch 21, 2006 - 12:25pm

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Hashim said he has also seen indications lately that the insurgents have begun "seeping back in" to Tall Afar now that the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment has rotated home and been replaced by another Army unit. And given the deep ethnic and sectarian divides in Tall Afar, he said, it is quite possible that the city could succumb to civil war, along with the rest of the country.

A Washington Post employee interviewing residents of Tall Afar found continuing anxiety in the streets. "Al-Qaeda has started to come back again," said Jaafar al-Khawat, 33, a tailor. "They have started to kill Shiites and Sunnis who cooperate with the Americans. Last Wednesday, they killed a truck driver because he worked with the Americans."

Yasir al-Efri, 23, a law student at Mosul University, said al-Qaeda pamphlets began appearing on the biggest mosque in Tall Afar in the past two months claiming credit for attacks. "The Tall Afar mission failed," he said. "The city will turn back to how it was before the battle within two months. The Americans are busy putting cement barriers and barbed wire around their bases and no one is taking care of the infrastructure."

Sebti, the mechanic, was more fearful of sectarian conflict. "People now are afraid to send their kids to school," he said. "I have to take my son to and from the school every day. There are two gangs in Tall Afar now that specialize in kidnapping children. Police can do nothing against that."

By mtmeggidoMarch 21, 2006 - 12:27pm

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