Anbar Insurgents Down in the Dumps

[unhappycamper]

Anbar Insurgents Down in the Dumps
April 15, 2008
Military.com|by Christian Lowe

The commander of forces in far western Iraq said April 15 the enemy his Marines and their Iraqi counterparts now confront is in disarray -- a smattering of foreign malcontents ruled by local thugs with little community support.

Disillusioned foreigners from Yemen, Algeria, Syria and Saudi Arabia are coming to Iraq with dreams of "jihad" in fewer numbers than they were a year ago, arrive under-equipped and are poorly led once they infiltrate the province.

"These are very often young to middle aged males who are kind of malcontents and misfits from their society," said Col. Patrick Malay, commander of Regimental Combat Team 5 based at al Asad Air Base. "Most of the ones that we've found are trying to get out of this tangled web that they've found themselves in."

"They're living a very nomadic existence out in the wadis," Malay said during an April 15 telephone interview with military bloggers.

When insurgents and al Qaeda terrorists were using Fallujah as their principle base in Iraq four years ago "those guys were coming down ... literally the bus load full-up weapons systems, chest rigs -- a functioning fighting force," Malay added.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/news/article/anbar-insurgents-down-in-the-dumps.html