US forges alliance with Saddam Hussein officers to fight al-Qaeda

[sabra]

Source: UK telegraph

American counter-terrorism specialists and Saddam Hussein's former intelligence officers have forged an unlikely alliance in Yemen to tackle al-Qaeda.

The two sides were enemies on the battlefield just seven years ago but have been brought together by the failings of Yemen's security and intelligence apparatus, according to diplomatic and military sources in the country.

Although mutual suspicions linger, the collaboration is said to have achieved some intelligence breakthroughs and helped instil greater efficiency and professionalism within the most elite Yemeni counterterrorism outfit.

Co-operation with the former Baathist officers, who fled Iraq in the wake of the US-led invasion and the fall of Saddam, is expected to grow further in the wake of the failed terror attack in the skies above Detroit.

...

The US-Iraqi alliance was born out of frustration over the incompetence and suspected al-Qaeda sympathies of many within Yemen's domestic intelligence body, the Political Security Organisation, or PSO.

"We do not know where the allegiance of many in the intelligence apparatus lies," said a western diplomat.


Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/yemen/6943108/US-forges-alliance-with-Saddam-Hussein-officers-to-fight-al-Qaeda.html

---

looks like the same may be happening in Iraq:

http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news/2010-01-05/kurd.htm

U.S. talking to former Baathists in Iraq

Azzaman, January 5, 2009

Members of Saddam Hussein’s Baath party are holding talks with the United States inside Iraq, a senior Baath party official said.

The official, refusing to be named, said the talks were confined to the “Bath leadership inside Iraq” and that Baath officials in exile were not involved.

“The talks between the Baath party and its allies of other armed groups are continuing,” the official, who lives in exile, said.

He said the Baath party, led by Saddam Hussein’s most senior lieutenant, Izzat Ibrahim, “are direct without third party officials.”

“We are pleased with the direct talks,” he added.

[bemildred]

1. Why does this story make me want to say "Uh oh"?

:think:

[jmowreader]

4. It doesn't make me say that at all

I would have liked to sit Bush down before he launched the war and asked him one simple question: "How will we know we won? And if you say anything about terrorists I will beat you with this sock full of dried beans."

He would have said it was when the three ethnic groups were living together without bloodshed.
When Iraq had clean water and electricity.
When Iraq had good medical care. Good sanitation. Quality free education for all Iraqi children.
We would have won when women could walk the streets without fear of being raped or attacked.
When children could play outdoors without fear of being killed.

"So, Mr. President." (Calling him dumbass to his face is no way of winning fiends and influencing people.) "What you are saying, since what you've described is the way Saddam Hussein's Iraq actually is, is you want Iraq to be just the way it is now but without a murderous thug for a president."

The second biggest mistake Bush made in this war (the biggest was launching it in the first place) was debaathization. Bush made a ruling that no member of the Ba'ath Socialist Party could work for the government. Unfortunately, Iraq had a political patronage system; if you wanted to drive a garbage truck for the Baghdad Solid Waste Department you had to join the party. By now all the real thugs should be working for Rent-a-Tyrant Strike Breaking Service.

[bemildred]

8. Maybe.

I was thinking about how this will go over with our good friends the Shi'ia and the Kurds. It is a dramatic change, as you point out, so it seems fair to wonder what is behind it. It could just be pragmatism and common sense true, but is that the way to bet?

[jmowreader]

12. It could also be...

that we've finally figured out we need to work with the locals, and the Ba'athists are the only ones who will work with us.

As far as how it will go over with the Shia and Kurd peoples, does the term "lead balloon" mean anything to you? That's to be expected, though; the three groups don't like each other. I think I've published here my opinion on how to end the internecine warfare in Iraq: declare the entire coastline, the eastern 10km of the country and the city of Baghdad to be neutral territory, split that nation into three regions one for each Muslim sect based on the historical divisions that existed pre-1921 (with the Kurdish area cut out of the north--and if you really want stability in the region try to get the Turks to cede a bit of territory so as to create a united Kurdistan because Turkey has a Kurd problem of its own), and get some industry into the Sunni sector 'cause there ain't no oil there.

[rhett o rick]

11. Wait just a minute. Any scenario involving questioning bush* is ridiculous.

You would get better answers from a 7 year old. And third the war was a success in many ways. CorpAmerica made zillions, Cheney finally got to torture people, something i am sure he dreamed about since childhood, and little Georgie Porgie got to prove to Poppy that he deserved long pants.

And I cant understand the hangup on "winning". Winning to CorpAmerica is chaos. Stir up a bunch of trouble and you got chaos capitalism. Sometimes mother nature helps, ala Katrina.

[jmowreader]

14. You're supposed to win wars, though

I can kinda understand the reticence to question Bush, being that he couldn't even answer the question, "Mr. President, what would you like for lunch?"*

But there's got to be SOME justification for starting a war, at least to normal people.
"We're going to fight a war against Japan because Japan attacked us."
"We're going to fight a war against North Korea because they invaded South Korea and the South Koreans can't get them out by themselves."
"We're going to fight a war against Iraq because Saddam tried to have mah daddy kilt twelve years ago."
One of these things is not like the other.

[rhett o rick]

15. They are probably more similar than you'll admit. But I get your point. nt

[Solly Mack]

2. K&R

lalalalala

[rhett o rick]

3. Switching sides again? How do we keep it straight? Didnt we side with al-Qaeda

against the Russians? Then sided with the Hussein against Iran. Then with al-Qaeda vs. Hussein or was it the other way round? And of course bush* thought Hussein was al-Qaeda. Does someone have a Power-Point?

[JuniperLea]

5. Yeah, a flow chart would be nice...

I need to know who we are friend with!

Hussein was very anti- al-Qaeda... one of the many BushCo lies caused people to forget that.

[jmowreader]

6. A Power-Point won't help

What you need is to know the steps for the Geopolitical Hokey-Pokey.

You put a dictator in
You pull a dictator out
You put a dictator in
And you shake him all about
You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around
And that's what it's all about!

[Arctic Dave]

7. LOL. Too true.

[rhett o rick]

9. Yes and take a drink every time we change sides. And two drinks when we are on both sides at the

same time ala Iraq vs. Iran war.

[PacerLJ35]

10. This is very old news...

Where do you think the leadership of Iraq's military came from? Nearly every pilot I flew with was a pilot and officer in Saddam's old Air Force. Very few young kids (although they are now hiring and training new guys). Same thing with the Army...all the Army generals I met and spoke with were also officers in Saddam's army.

[jmowreader]

13. There's a very slight difference here, Pacer...

The Iraqi Intelligence Service, also known as the Ministry of Love, made the KGB seem warm and cuddly.

Welcome to DU, Pacer. Are you in the Air Force?

[PacerLJ35]

17. They have a vetting process

I know the officers and generals let back into the military were closely scrutinized to see what extent they served with the old regime. People close to Saddam or his close affiliates are barred from joining. One thing I learned is that even though someone was in the Ba'ath party, they weren't necessarily die hard Ba'athists. To have any role in Saddam's Iraq beyond a simple laborer or merchant, you had to belong to the party. There were some really bad guys in the old intel service, but not everyone was like that and to some degree you have to lean on the old guard to get things started because they had knowledge of the infrastructure.

[Flaneur]

16. Saddam's spooks are gonna save us from the clusterfuck that is Yemen?

This will certainly turn out well.