U.S. OUT OF IRAQ NOW

Who's killing Americans? Loyalists, Islamists, criminals (AP, June 30,
2003)

The Pentagon is puzzling over how many resisters there are, how well they are organized and how they can be stopped.

Lt. Gen. John Abizaid, confirmed Friday to replace war commander Gen. Tommy Franks as head of U.S. Central Command, told the Senate that there are three main groups causing the violence:

**Leftover cells from Saddam's Baath party in a triangle bounded by Baghdad, Ramadi and Tikrit.

**Anti-American fundamentalist Islamists, including some foreigners.

* A criminal element including some of the 100,000 prisoners Saddam freed from jail before the war.

Three groups that we are ill-equipped to identify but the Shiites are easily able to--turn the country over to them and they'll handle it. Posted by Orrin Judd at June 30, 2003 10:14 AM