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Crocker: Al Qaeda in Iraq Never Closer to Defeat

Braaq

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Anyone buy this, after all I did find it on FOXNews.com? Discuss.

BAGHDAD — The U.S. ambassador to Iraq said Saturday that Al Qaeda's network in the country has never been closer to defeat, and he praised Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for his moves to rein in Shiite and Sunni militant groups.

Ryan Crocker's comments came as Iraqi forces have been conducting crackdowns on Al Qaeda militants in the northern city of Mosul and on Shiite militiamen in the southern city of Basra. Thousands of Iraqi forces also moved into the Shiite militia stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad last week imposing control for the first time in years.

But truces with the powerful Mahdi Army militia that have calmed violence in Basra and paved the way for the Sadr City deployment have been strained in the past two days.

Supporters of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who heads the Mahdi Army, accused al-Maliki on Saturday of seeking to eliminate their movement and warned that "dark clouds" hang over the truce.

Al Qaeda fighters or other Sunni insurgents struck back in Mosul on Saturday. A roadside bomb in the city's Sumer neighborhood hit an Iraqi army patrol, destroying a vehicle and killing four soldiers, a police officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

Near Baqouba — where a U.S. offensive last year targeted Al Qaeda in Iraq — gunmen assassinated a member of the local Awakening Council, a U.S.-backed group of Sunni tribesmen who are fighting Al Qaeda. The attack occurred in the village of Had, north of Baghdad, police said.

U.S Ambassador Crocker spoke as he visited reconstruction projects in the southern city of Najaf.

"There is important progress for the Iraqi forces in confronting the Sunni and Shiite militias," he said, speaking Arabic to reporters. "The government, the prime minister are showing a clear determination to take on extremist armed elements that challenge the government's authority ... no matter who these elements are."

"You are not going to hear me say that Al Qaeda is defeated, but they've never been closer to defeat than they are now," Crocker said.

The U.S. military says attacks have dropped dramatically — down to an average of 41 a day across the country, the lowest rate since 2004 — amid the crackdowns and truces. The U.S. military, backed by Sunni Arab tribal fighters, have scored successes in battling Al Qaeda in Iraq and other Sunni insurgents in western parts of the country.

The Mosul sweep aims to dislodge the terror network from its most prominent remaining urban stronghold. The operation has met little opposition, suggesting that many Al Qaeda militants fled, intending to regroup elsewhere as they have in past crackdowns.

In Baghdad, three men attending a conference at the offices of the National Dialogue Front, a leading Sunni Arab political party, were killed when a bomb exploded under their car as they left the gathering, police said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.

Meanwhile, new tensions over the truces in Sadr City and Basra were sparked when Iraqi troops in Basra fired over the heads of al-Sadr followers congregating in a northern square for Friday prayers. Iraqi police recently banned al-Sadr gatherings there after a large cache of weapons was found nearby.

Iraqi troops were deployed and when those gathering refused to disperse, the police fired rounds over their heads, witnesses said.

Iraqi police in Basra said one person was wounded, but al-Sadr officials contended that one person was killed.

Also Friday, Iraqi and U.S. troops carried out a sweep in two Mahdi Army strongholds of western Baghdad, the Amil and Bayaa districts, arresting around 100 people, police officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.

Iraqi forces in the operation cordoned off a cultural center in Amil where Sadrists were gathering to hold prayers and arrested some worshippers, the officials said.

Sadrist lawmakers denounced the moves saying there was a "nationwide conspiracy against Friday prayers" and a government move to "eliminate" their movement.

Sadrist lawmaker, Aqeel Abdul-Rahman, said the group was still committed to Sadr City truce. "But we see black clouds on the horizon, being brought by the government to rain on the sons of the Sadr Movement," he said.

The Sadrists' angry rhetoric may in part be aimed at warning al-Maliki not to take more aggressive steps against the Mahdi Army in Sadr City, such as confiscating heavy weapons or arresting key figures. The government has said it plans to do so, but has not begun any raids in the district, wary of sparking retaliation.
 
Hypocrisy86

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Why is there another Army?
im confused

The Mahdi army? wtf
we're in Iraq, fighting, 5th year, yet this shits boiling on the pot?
 
pegasus

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the mahdi army isn't like the iraqi national army, its a group of thousands of men who fight for moqtada al sadr, a shiite cleric.
 
Mygeeto

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Al Qaeda is part of the enemy.. the real enemy is Islam. that religeon is dangerous and hateful and a threat to every single living person. it should be outlawed to the extremes of the law. i would never allow such a volatile and evil religeon to come into being anywhere in the world.


Islam is the peacefull religeon.. to those who are Islamic and to those who convert to Islam.

it is death to those who are not.
 
Mygeeto

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a few points id like to make

1) the guy standing next to Will Smith, i seriously cannot understand a word he says

2) he might be the most famous person in the world (acording to what Will Smith says) but i have no idea why he is. i do not even know him, i have no reason to consider him my hero. no examples were given to prove his heroicy to me.

3) he may be Muslim, but is that the same thing as Islamic? either way, if a religeon is open to be soo widely interpreted as a religeon that demands the killing and opression of non-beleivers by its followers, then something is seriously wrong.

4) "nothing could be more un-American than to respond to mindless hatred with blind vengance".. right. outlawing (legally) a very dangerous religeon is "blind vengance" :jerkoff1:

5) "we are strongest when we stand together" yes, because people act differently in groups than they do as an individual. sure, this one muslim/islamist might be a good man, but that dosnt take away from any of the other things that the rest of evils islamics have done. i think you will really enjoy the part about Stoned To Death For Falling In Love. id post the video of that, but i dont think something soo graphic should be seen here. so i wont.

6) when Will Smith says ".. And he's a Muslim" what kind of reaction do you think that would get? ohh, lets open our arms up to this poor man because he's Muslim and wants to apologise for the destruction of the twin towers and the loss of life that day at the hands of other muslims. wether 9/11 is an inside job or not i will not get into. "ohh, they killed thousands of lives, but its okay now because we're sorry" :jerkoff1:
 
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Ironslave

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You don't know who Muhammad Ali is?? :uhoh2::uhoh2:


Edit: also Muslin and Islam are the same thing. This was epic self ownage dude.
 
Mygeeto

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ah, see he's still sooooo famous that i didnt recognise who he was until you pointed that out to me then. although, i have only seen one picture of Muhammad Ali (btw his previous name was alot cooler) and that was in his prime boxing days

either way, it dosnt matter. i didnt understand what he said and im still left wondering "why?"

also, when i said "he may be Muslim, but is that the same thing as Islamic?" i previously thought there was a difference. that was a serious question because people talk about it like its two different things.
 
Ironslave

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ah, see he's still sooooo famous that i didnt recognise who he was until you pointed that out to me then. although, i have only seen one picture of Muhammad Ali (btw his previous name was alot cooler) and that was in his prime boxing days

Ali is a living icon, plain and simple, not recognizing him itself is just silly, especially standing next to Will Smith (who plays him in the movie 'Ali), calls him "champ", mentions he's the "greatest". He is, without question, one of the most famous people alive around the world.

when Will Smith says ".. And he's a Muslim" what kind of reaction do you think that would get? ohh, lets open our arms up to this poor man because he's Muslim and wants to apologise for the destruction of the twin towers and the loss of life that day at the hands of other muslims

The reason why he spoke is because he is one of the most heroic, honorable men to ever live, and most people see him and give him respect (he damn well deserves it). Hearing him speak and defend his religion and encourage people to not look at it in blind hate are wise words which mean so much more coming from a man who gave up part of his life refusing to fight people.

Your reaction is the exact reason why he spoke, I wish that pieces of shit like the Bush administration, Republican candidates (minus Ron Paul) had to listen to him him speak to them directly.

either way, it dosnt matter. i didnt understand what he said and im still left wondering "why?"

He has a disease, show some respect.

also, when i said "he may be Muslim, but is that the same thing as Islamic?" i previously thought there was a difference. that was a serious question because people talk about it like its two different things.

It just shows how little you know about a religion that you are calling to outlaw, give me a break, that's an absolute joke. America is supposed to be about freedom of speech, association, and of course, religion.

I have no doubt that members of Islam have committed atrocities, but so have Christians, Jews, and many other religions, and many times they have carried out these actions in name of their religion.

Should we outlaw Christianity/Judaism, since the members of the US Government who were Christian/Jewish killed hundreds of thousands more people in Iraq than any Muslims in the last 5 years?
 
Duality

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Al Qaeda is part of the enemy.. the real enemy is Islam. that religeon is dangerous and hateful and a threat to every single living person. it should be outlawed to the extremes of the law. i would never allow such a volatile and evil religeon to come into being anywhere in the world.


Islam is the peacefull religeon.. to those who are Islamic and to those who convert to Islam.

it is death to those who are not.



wow very powerful words. though your views are extreme, i'm inclined to agree with you. The hugest bullshit farce on this planet are the people who claim islam is about peace. cut me a fucking break. most are backwards extremeist with no value of human life. if your not with them, then you deserve death because your an "infadel". the scum of this planet are islamic extremists or the ones that wish harm on those who don't believe in allah.
 
Bulkboy

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wow very powerful words. though your views are extreme, i'm inclined to agree with you. The hugest bullshit farce on this planet are the people who claim islam is about peace. cut me a fucking break. most are backwards extremeist with no value of human life. if your not with them, then you deserve death because your an "infadel". the scum of this planet are islamic extremists or the ones that wish harm on those who don't believe in allah.


Yeah mygeeto doesent choose his words very carefully, but in this instance he does have a point. there is no doubt in my mind that Islam is the most violent/fanatic religion in the world today. and if u read some of the quotes in the koran, u can see that they do indeed call for murdering non muslims and waging war against the "infidels" this is made worse by the fact that muslims believe that the koran is meant to be taken literally, so it gives the fanatics a great insentive, more than in any other religion. thats not to say there are moderates in islam too, most muslims are probably great people, but there is no denying that the fanatics have gotten a stronger position than in any other religion...
 

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Duality

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Yeah mygeeto doesent choose his words very carefully, but in this instance he does have a point. there is no doubt in my mind that Islam is the most violent/fanatic religion in the world today. and if u read some of the quotes in the koran, u can see that they do indeed call for murdering non muslims and waging war against the "infidels" this is made worse by the fact that muslims believe that the koran is meant to be taken literally, so it gives the fanatics a great insentive, more than in any other religion. thats not to say there are moderates in islam too, most muslims are probably great people, but there is no denying that the fanatics have gotten a stronger position than in any other religion...

perfectly worded bro :xyxthumbs:
 
Ironslave

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I lol'd

Oh please, this whole thing is just stupid. Define "victory", eliminate the "terrorists"? YOU CANNOT ELIMINATE A TACTIC. The notion that Al Qaeda is this one and only elaborate terrorist group who suddenly emerged and became responsible for everything that has happened in the last 7 years is mind bogglingly stupid.
 
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lifterdead

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It's literally impossible and somewhat ridiculous to claim any religion is "the most evil religion in the world." I know this might be hard for some of you to grasp, but it's true, whether the religion is Christianity, Buddhism, or Islam. I have lived/traveled in some Buddhist countries, and, believe it or not, met violent buddhists. Last semester, I had 7 Saudi Arabain students in my class. All of them were the best possible students I could have hoped for, and they are now great friends. Being born and raised in Riyadh as muslims has not made them evil.

Again, looking at extremists on TV, reading violent quotes in the Koran, and concluding it's Islam is the worst religion in the world just doesn't cut it.

Saying "Islam is evil" is about as intelligent as saying "People from Alambama are ignorant hicks."

Furthermore, most of you don't have any experience with Koran in terms of its interpretation. Just quoting the Koran and claiming it as proof as the most violent religion isn't enough. I could easily find a dozen quotes in the bible about raping women, selling daughters, and slaughtering all non-believers of yahweh.

I'm not going to try to argue that Islam is peaceful. It isn't. In my view, all religion is equally misleading and damaging to society. Islam just seems to be the worst of the bunch at the moment.
 
Tech

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this thread is chalk full of ignorance.
 
Ironslave

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did you even go to that link and read the part i said to read? i cant beleive a person who fights people for a living gave up part of his life to not do what he has always done as a career - fight people. backwards logic there.

This is getting just absurd, comparing boxing someone in a sanctioned sporting competition and flying around the world to shoot and kill people who have done nothing to him in a meaningless war is just idiotic, plain and simple. I'd be shocked if even one other person on this site shared your opinion on it being backwards logic.

As always, I agree with lifter. I think religion is harmful, but to outlaw it is just fucking ignorant and stupid.
 
Ironslave

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Here's something unfamiliar, a book. Read it.

140006317501 SCLZZZZZZZ  1



Pape's Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism (2005) controverts many widely held beliefs about suicide terrorism. Based on an analysis of every known case of suicide terrorism from 1980 to 2005 (315 attacks as part of 18 campaigns), he concludes that there is "little connection between suicide terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism, or any one of the world’s religions... . Rather, what nearly all suicide terrorist attacks have in common is a specific secular and strategic goal: to compel modern democracies to withdraw military forces from territory that the terrorists consider to be their homeland" (p. 4). "The taproot of suicide terrorism is nationalism," he argues; it is "an extreme strategy for national liberation" (pp. 79-80). Pape's work examines groups as diverse as the Basque ETA to the Sri Lankan Tamil Tigers. Pape also notably provides further evidence to a growing body of literature that finds that the majority of suicide terrorists do not come from impoverished background, but rather have middle class origins.
 
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R

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Al Qeada in Iraq never existed till this maladroit decided to invade for his own benefit. Hussein & OBL couldn't stand eachother. Hussein thought Obl was to extreme. And OBL thought Hussein wasn't extreme enough. This is a perpetual war with no end in sight, After all McSame said he's prepared to fight this war for the next 100 years,that maleficent old bastard. No matter what these sick minatory right wingers say and, no matter how many times they say it, it doesn't make it true!:angrydude:
 
Bulkboy

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I lol'd

Oh please, this whole thing is just stupid. Define "victory", eliminate the "terrorists"? YOU CANNOT ELIMINATE A TACTIC. The notion that Al Qaeda is this one and only elaborate terrorist group who suddenly emerged and became responsible for everything that has happened in the last 7 years is mind bogglingly stupid.

victory is a safe and stable iraq, and although its by no means stabilized yet progress is obviously being made, cant denie that IS. and obviously al quaida isnt the only group operating in iraq, but they are there, and they are to a large extent responsible for alot of the violence in the country. they arent responsible for everything, but after the invasion iraq was in chaos, and chaos and destabilization gave al quaida the insentive to establish themselves in the country. u cant defeat the tactic, but u can defeat the people employing the tactic, which is obvious from the drastic reduction in violence.
 
Mygeeto

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Al Qeada in Iraq never existed till this maladroit decided to invade for his own benefit. Hussein & OBL couldn't stand eachother. Hussein thought Obl was to extreme. And OBL thought Hussein wasn't extreme enough. This is a perpetual war with no end in sight, After all McSame said he's prepared to fight this war for the next 100 years,that maleficent old bastard. No matter what these sick minatory right wingers say and, no matter how many times they say it, it doesn't make it true!:angrydude:


George Bush was intended to make the Republican party look soo disasterous than people would never vote Republican again. i mean i dont blame them. i know differently, but i can see the logic in that and alot of people wont vote Republic anymore becuase if George Bush is a prime example of a Republican, then you can obviously expect to see doom, doom and more doom.

and look who the only other Republican is. McCain. i wont even break that down.

and then.. look at the Democrat party. looks pretty inviting ey?

if a Democrat wins expect to see America liberalised like nothin else.
 
Ironslave

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victory is a safe and stable iraq, and although its by no means stabilized yet progress is obviously being made, cant denie that IS. and obviously al quaida isnt the only group operating in iraq, but they are there, and they are to a large extent responsible for alot of the violence in the country. they arent responsible for everything, but after the invasion iraq was in chaos, and chaos and destabilization gave al quaida the insentive to establish themselves in the country. u cant defeat the tactic, but u can defeat the people employing the tactic, which is obvious from the drastic reduction in violence.

Yes I can indeed deny that, because ALL you are doing is basing your "surge is working" nonsense on is a few media highlights, a gut feeling, and selectively cherry picking sources. But anyways, at least humor me this, how is it possible to defeat these organizations? What's the solution, since the war is seriously raping the economy of America, it's going to have to end or else a crash is coming.

AMERICA is responsible for FAR more violence in the country than Al Qaeda is.
 
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