U.S. forces battled irregulars from Arafat's territory in Iraq
WorldNetDaily ^ | April 11, 2003 | Joseph Farah
Palestinian support of Saddam continues
Joseph Farah
April 11, 2003
WorldNetDaily.com
When the U.S. Army's 3rd infantry division locked into fierce fighting south of Baghdad last week, officers were surprised to learn they were not always battling Iraqis.
Military sources tell Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin captured prisoners of war in that fight included Palestinians and Jordanians who used rocket-propelled grenades, suicide trucks, artillery and sniper fire to attack U.S. troops.
Military sources referred to the resistance as "thugs" who appeared to be attempting to reorganize Iraqi resistance in and around Baghdad.
The involvement of Palestinian fighters from Yasser Arafat's territory was no fluke.
Islamic Jihad and Arafat's Fatah both sent hundreds of its men from Lebanon and Syria on suicide missions against U.S. and British forces, according to G2B sources.
Meanwhile, leaders of various Palestinian groups say they will escalate the fight against Israel following the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq. The threats came as many Palestinians continued to express deep disappointment at the defeat of the Iraqi army, saying they still don't understand what went wrong in Baghdad. In some places, Palestinians were seen removing posters of Saddam Hussein from the streets and public buildings, according to the Jerusalem Post.
A cartoon in the Palestinian Authority's daily Al-Hayat al-Jadeeda showed an Arab man, with tears streaming from his eyes, hoisting a black flag that carried the label Baghdad.
Palestinian columnist Adli Sadeq heaped praise on Saddam, saying "despite some reports that he struck a deal for himself, his family, and some of his close aides enabling [them] to leave Iraq unharmed ... the man tried his best and did all that he could."
Writing in Al-Hayat, Sadeq said, "[Saddam] was a thorn in the eye of the imperialists, and we will not change our mind about him, though we know that he made some mistakes, like other great leaders who ruled difficult societies." Al-Quds, the largest Palestinian daily, described the collapse of Baghdad as a nakba (catastrophe). "This is not going to be the last nakba," it said in an editorial. "The Anglo-American victory will open the colonialists' appetite to devour more Arab capitals. This nakba is added to a series of disasters that have plagued the Arabs and Muslims over the past century. Perhaps this latest disaster will bring about a genuine awakening of the Arabs and Muslims."
The Bush administration has pledged to renew efforts to create a Palestinian state after the Iraq war as a first step toward building a permanent peace in the Middle East. |
