January 9, 2008:
U.S. and Iraqi military operations against
terrorists have been so successful in the last year that the security forces
have now been able to turn their attention to the many criminal gangs that have
flourished in the midst of the terrorist and sectarian mayhem. The gangs are
often part of terrorist organizations, which finance their violence with
criminal scams. Smuggling, counterfeiting, kidnapping and extortion are
favorites. The less religious gangs also deal in booze and prostitution. Many
gangs provide support services for the terrorists. Everything from selling and
smuggling weapons and bomb materials, to manufacturing suicide and roadside
bombs, and even placing them. Some gangs will also kidnap or murder to order, although
they will generally stay away from high profile targets (too much back blast.)
Over the last four years, U.S.
intelligence efforts have collected information on thousands of misbehaving
Iraqis. This database has been used mainly to identify and locate terrorists,
but many common criminals were picked up and identified as well. But now the
troops are running out of terrorists, and going after the gangsters. This is
very popular with the average Iraqi, who has suffered more from the mobsters,
than from the terrorists. But this crackdown on crime has created new opportunities
to hurt the remaining terrorists groups. The criminals, when caught, or facing
some serious damage to their organization, will try to negotiate. The gangsters
do have something quite valuable to trade; information on what terrorists (they
have worked with) are up to, or just how they operated (and with who.) No honor
among thieves, especially now since most Iraqis see terrorism as a dead end and
a lost cause.