Iraqi Sunnis drop al-Qaida over marriages
Published: Aug. 31, 2007 at 8:49 AM
BAGHDAD, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- A top counter-terrorism adviser to the U.S. coalition in Iraq said many Iraqi Sunnis turned against al-Qaida when it attempted to force marriages.
Australian Col. David Kilcullen, who recently served as senior counterinsurgency aide to U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus in Baghdad, said Sunnis were outraged when the largely foreign-run terrorist organization tried to force Iraqi women to marry members to secure al-Qaida's place in the country, The Washington Times reported Friday.
Kilcullen said al-Qaida used the forced marriage strategy in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia and elsewhere but "the tactic seemed to have backfired" in Iraq, partially because the Islam practiced by the Iraqis differed from that observed by al-Qaida.
"(Al-Qaida), with their hyper-reductionist version of 'Islam' stripped of cultural content, discounted the tribes' view as ignorant, stupid and sinful," the colonel wrote.
Kilcullen said the falling out between Sunni tribes and al-Qaida could provide a boost to U.S. President George W. Bush's strategy in Iraq.
"The uprising represents very significant political progress toward reconciliation at the grass-roots level, and major security progress in marginalizing extremists and reducing civilian deaths," Kilcullen wrote Wednesday in the military blog Small Wars Journal.
Australian Col. David Kilcullen, who recently served as senior counterinsurgency aide to U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus in Baghdad, said Sunnis were outraged when the largely foreign-run terrorist organization tried to force Iraqi women to marry members to secure al-Qaida's place in the country, The Washington Times reported Friday.
Kilcullen said al-Qaida used the forced marriage strategy in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia and elsewhere but "the tactic seemed to have backfired" in Iraq, partially because the Islam practiced by the Iraqis differed from that observed by al-Qaida.
"(Al-Qaida), with their hyper-reductionist version of 'Islam' stripped of cultural content, discounted the tribes' view as ignorant, stupid and sinful," the colonel wrote.
Kilcullen said the falling out between Sunni tribes and al-Qaida could provide a boost to U.S. President George W. Bush's strategy in Iraq.
"The uprising represents very significant political progress toward reconciliation at the grass-roots level, and major security progress in marginalizing extremists and reducing civilian deaths," Kilcullen wrote Wednesday in the military blog Small Wars Journal.
© 2007 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
» Next in Top News:
California moves to ban employee tagging
U.S. President George W. Bush visits the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem on May 16, 2008. (UPI Photo/Amos Ben Gershom/Israeli Government Press Office)
U.S. President Bush visits Israel
Full Photo
| Slideshow
Latest Headlines
Most Popular