March 16, 2006:
There's a link between the Sunni Arab terrorists of Iraq, and the Taliban of Afghanistan, and there are CDs to prove it. The Sunni Arab terrorists have long been known to be well organized. That's because most of their leadership worked for Saddam. These guys were long time terrorism experts, as it was with fear that Saddam ruled Iraq for over three decades. Iraqi Sunni Arabs are also very well educated. Lots of lawyers, doctors and engineers. Even Saddam was studying to be a lawyer, before he realized he had better career prospects as a tyrant. So the Sunni Arab terrorists created a CD containing step-by-step instructions on how to run a successful terrorism campaign. Actually, the Iraqi terrorism campaign wasn't successful, but that's another story. However, following the instructions on the CD will definitely make your terrorism more effective. So if you are satisfied with just killing more people, you need this CD. The Taliban have received many copies of the CD.
The principal advice concerns some pretty ancient (we're talking biblical here) advice. First, have good intelligence about the enemy. Then, get spies inside the enemy security forces. Know as much as possible about any target you are going to attack. Have the right weapons for successfully carrying out the attack. And it's important to have dedicated fighters. Now, back to that biblical reference. And so it came to pass that the Israeli warrior Joshua did conquer Jericho, 3,000 years ago, using these principles. The wisdom of the ancients.
The Taliban are trying to use the CD to regain power in Afghanistan. In addition, there are supposed to be several hundred Afghans, who fought in Iraq, assisting in the process. This is hard to prove, as very few Afghans, dead or alive, have been encountered in Iraq. But the CD has led to the increased use of roadside bombs and, well, not much else, in Afghanistan. The Iraqi CD also emphasizes the usefulness of terror in demoralizing the enemy, and maintaining the loyalty of people you need. This has not worked in Iraq, or Afghanistan, but how to deal with that is not covered in the CD. The biblical scriptures contain useful advice on that subject, but it's unlikely that the Taliban will look there.