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Just what I've been waiting for: a study of where the Iraqi terrorists are coming from. I've been very curious about this. How many are coming from other countries? How many are coming from inside Iraq?
Foreign militants make up only a small percentage of the insurgents fighting in Iraq, as little as 10 percent, according to US military and intelligence officials. The top general in Iraq said late last month that about 600 foreign fighters have been captured or killed by coalition forces since the Jan. 30 Iraqi elections. The wider insurgency, numbering in the tens of thousands, is believed to consist of former Iraqi soldiers, Saddam Hussein loyalists, and members of Iraq's Sunni Muslim minority.
But the impact of the foreign fighters has been enormous. They are blamed for the almost daily suicide attacks against US and Iraqi forces and have killed thousands of civilians, mostly members of Iraq's Shia Muslim majority. Their exploits have been responsible for much of the headline-grabbing carnage recently, contributing to the slide in American public support for the war.
I still want to find out how much support the foreign terrorists are getting from those who are native to Iraq. It seems likely that they are getting substantial support from the Iraqi native terrorists in terms of living space, instructions on how to access their civilian targets, etc.
(Hat Tip to A.)
