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Q: Which country is the largest source of foreign combatants in Iraq insurgencies ( Answered 5 out of 5 stars,   2 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Which country is the largest source of foreign combatants in Iraq insurgencies
Category: Reference, Education and News > Current Events
Asked by: grthumongous-ga
List Price: $10.00
Posted: 21 Jun 2005 00:27 PDT
Expires: 21 Jul 2005 00:27 PDT
Question ID: 535365
Which country is the largest source of foreign combatants in the Iraq
insurgencies opposing the MNF and the Iraq Transitional Government.
Answer  
Subject: Re: Which country is the largest source of foreign combatants in Iraq insurgencies
Answered By: politicalguru-ga on 21 Jun 2005 01:25 PDT
Rated:5 out of 5 stars
 
Dear 

Nice to see you again. The most reliable source I could find on the
subject is the Washington Post:
"The Washington Post reports that most foreign insurgents in Iraq come
from Saudi Arabia, with a significant minority from other countries on
Iraq's borders, such as Syria and Kuwait. The Post culled their
figures from lists of dead posted on radical Muslim Web sites."
(SOURCE: "Rice, In Iraq, Urges Patience" CBS News, May 15, 2005,
<http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/05/16/iraq/main695343.shtml>).

The original article could be found at : 
Susan B. Glasser, "'Martyrs' In Iraq Mostly Saudis" Washington Post,
May 15, 2005; Page A01,
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/14/AR2005051401270.html>

The Jewish magazine "Forward" quotes  Senator Joseph Biden (D,
Delaware), who has been to Iraq and have spoken with intelligence
officials, substantiating this claim: "Saudi nationals fighting
American forces in Iraq have grown in numbers significantly in recent
months, and are now believed to constitute a majority in the swelling
ranks of foreign Islamic insurgents in Iraq ? and the majority of
suicide bombers in Iraq" (SOURCE: Ori Nir, "Saudi Jihadists Play a
Growing Part In Iraq Insurgency, U.S. Generals Say", Forward, June 17,
2005, <http://www.forward.com/articles/3335>).

Saaudi money, according to CNN, is also at least partly funding the
Iraqi insurgency:
Zain Verjee, "Is Saudi money financing Iraqi insurgents?" CNN  October
26, 2004 <http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/10/26/saudi.money.iraq/>

I hope this answers your question. Please contact me if you need any
further clarifications on this answer before you rate it. My search
terms:
insurgents iraq saudi,  "washington post" insurgents iraq , insurgents
iraq combatants countries , insurgents , "combatants in Iraq come",
"insurgent * in Iraq come", "insurgent * in Iraq", "insurgent in
Iraq", "insurgents in Iraq come", insurgents in Iraq come , "most * *
in iraq come" , "most * in iraq come"
grthumongous-ga rated this answer:5 out of 5 stars and gave an additional tip of: $3.00
Thanks politicalguru.  
Thanks borisshah.
Perhaps a viable theory that conflates borisshah's comment with
politicalguru's research is that (Saudi) Wahibi jihadis travel to
Jordan on "vacation" and then infiltrate into western Iraq where it
abuts Syria and/or Jordan.

Google Maps shows the long border of Iraq with Saudi, Jordan, and Syria.
The Google satellite shows that much of that terrain is desert.

Comments  
Subject: Re: Which country is the largest source of foreign combatants in Iraq insurgencies
From: borisshah-ga on 21 Jun 2005 03:40 PDT
 
The Problem is that no one really knows how to track these insurgents
so our best intelligence comes from Arabic news sources who tend to
distort the picture a bit too much. But the majority according to the
US Army supposedly comes from Syria which mirrors the diplomatic row
between the two countries and all the clean-up operations being held
at the border right now by the Iraqi and US Armies
Subject: Re: Which country is the largest source of foreign combatants in Iraq insurgencies
From: politicalguru-ga on 23 Jun 2005 23:35 PDT
 
Dear Grthumongous, 

Thank you for that rating and the tip. 

I am sorry, but I cannot avoid my own personal opinion here: some
countries have  landed on the State Department list of states
suppporting terrorism for much less; Some countries are still there,
although some of the "terrorist" they've supported were legitimate
government forces fighting against a US-backed guerilla (by the way,
where since then a peace agreement has been signed); etc.

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