WAR: U.S. Sends in Secret Weapon: Saddams Old Commandos

A new weapon for U.S. forces battling the insurgents has emerged. Former members of Saddam�s special forces newly trained and reequipped have been fighting alongside U.S. troops for more than 5 months now. There deployment is in the dangerous area along the Euphrates river immediately south of Baghdad that is also refered to as the �triangle of death� .



According to U.S. officials some of the hardest fighting troops were ex special forces in the Iraqi army. Iraq will have to secure itself when and if the U.S. and the coalitions leaves. Training these troops may leave a strong distaste in peoples mouths, but it may be a necessary evil. By all accounts the troops have performed well and this is something we should keep a eye on for future developments.

[edit on 11/27/04 by FredT]

I think this is a very positive sign of increased co-operation among the Iraquis and the forces trying to help stabalize Iraq.

We must remember that when Iraq was under Sadaams rule that one of the best paid and most higly sought after positions was in these special forces and the armed forces in general. I believe part of this relates to the famlilies of these soldiers signed up into Sadaams army being left alone by the secret police. The men signing up may not have liked Sadaam or the way he ruled, but as their ruler at the time, it was better for them and their families if they were seen to be loyal to this madman.....after all we know some of the horror stories of what Sadaam would have done to traitors of his rule such as cutting of ears, and other various forms of physical and mental torure I will not repeat in publi forums.
Better to side with the devil and live to tell the tale and maybe affect some change, than to die in vain cursing his name and never being able to change a thing.
I might be on the wrong track here, but im open to critisism:>

there are a few interesting points about this.
the return of the old Ba'athists was an inevitability and necessity. While Bremer at first resisted this, it was the military who rightfully argued that Americans could never lead an Iraqi army. The early disasters of the IA in April were a case in point. It was after Fallujah1 that they finally consented to bringing back Saddam's leaders.

These were happy to oblige. For one, they are mostly secularists. Like Saddam, they always feared radical islam...another reason why Saddam and Bin Laden connections are ridiculous. Backing Americans is the only way Ba'athists have at getting any sort of power in the new government.

Most Ba'athists were of course Sunnis, like the insurgents. But they're in the minority. Americans need Sunni participation, or else the new government will look undemocratic. Using Military guys will allow Americans to say:"whaddya mean there are no Sunnis in this govt? We have them!"

But make no mistake about it. The military folks we are giving jobs to are not exactly nice guys. In a bizarre twist of history, some of these high-ranking guys are now leading a military made up of 85% Kurds...the very same people that these leaders dropped gas on years back.

Does this sound like stability to anyone? Not exactly.

Yeah, get the new "iraqi forces" back in training so they can help Allawi keep a strong hold in his secret guard.