Insurgents' Holy War Map on Internet

[sabra]

<<SNIP>>
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.177662212&par=0

IRAQ: INSURGENTS' HOLY WAR MAP ON INTERNET

Baghdad, 16 June (AKI) - Muslim militants seeking to join the fighting in Iraq against the US-led coalition forces and their Iraqi government allies can now choose the best route to smuggle themselves into the country, simply by following detailed instructions available on the Internet. "The central border area between Syria's Dir al-Zur province and Iraq's al-Anbar province is the entry point most used by the mujahadeen," says part of a lengthy message, posted on the Islamic "Firdaws" forum on the Internet. The message, entitled "The way towards the country of the two rivers," a reference to Iraq and the two main rivers flowing through the country - the Tigris and the Euphrates - is signed by someone called al-Muhjhir al-Islami. It bears some resemblance to another message Adnkronos International (AKI) found on the site on 7 June, and may have been compiled by the same author.

While the earlier message, signed by a certain "Doctor Islam", tipped would-be insurgents to wear jeans and to shave off their beards to avoid detection as Muslim fundamentalists, the new messages offers much more detailed instructions on how to overcome the logistical hurdles of getting into Iraq.

The following excerpts indicate the level of detail provided:

"The Syrian-Iraqi border runs for some 500 kilometres:

Zone A) along the first 230 kilometres in the north where the Kurds live the border is marked by the river Tigris. This is the toughest tract to cross, with frontier patrols deployed every 10 kilometres along the first 130 kilometres."

Zone B) is the best area in which to cross into Iraq... for the following reasons:
1) The strong bonds linking the Arab tribes on both sides of the border.
2) The sympathy shown by these people towards the mujahadeen fighters.
3) The fervent attachment of these people towards Islam and Arab traditions.
4) The hatred they have for the Syrian regime.
5) The ties between the local sheiks and those in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait, in particluar with those of the Shamr, al-Bakara, al-Akidat, al-Bukhris tribes..."
6) The feeling that they have been abandoned by the Syrian regime which extracts 60 percent of its oil, grain, cotton and barley exports from here, while providing nothing in return...
7) Of the 12.2 million people originating from Syria's Dir al-Zur region, some 350,000 work in the Gulf states, so it is easy for you to befriend them. They will teach you the best way to cross their country to reach Iraq.
8) It will take you a half-hour walk to reach the Iraqi city of Qaim (population 50,000) if you set off from the densely populated city of al-Bukamal in Syria...
9) The high level of intensity in clashes with the Americans is something which is being maintained to keep them occupied and thus ease the task for mujahidin crossing the border...
10) Some of the villages along the border are divided into Syrian and Iraqi sectors.
11) People in the region speak an Iraqi dialect very similar to the one spoken in the Gulf states."

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[Felix Mala]

1. One more avenue left unprotected by Rummy

Of course, no one in the administration is to blame...

[Wright Patman]

2. The powers that be

have typically been for open borders on this continent so it is not surprising that they have difficulty implementing the alien concept of border control half a world away.