Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
WASHINGTON, Jan 13, 2006 (AFP) - Al-Qaeda in Iraq is in disarray with many killed or captured, and Sunni supporters increasingly turning against them, a top US commander in Iraq said Friday.
Lieutenant General John Vines said a variety of intelligence indicates that most of the violence currently shaking Iraq is not being conducted by Al-Qaeda but by other Iraqi insurgent groups.
"So there are a fair number of indicators that tell us currently Al-Qaeda in Iraq is in disarray," he told reporters here via video link from Baghdad.
"Does it have the capability to regenerate? Unfortunately it could," he said.
"But we must keep the pressure on, we must maintain the offensive to deny them the caliphate they would like to establish so they can attack you and other people."
Vines said large numbers of followers of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, have been killed or captured in recent months, including in a series of US offensives along the Euphrates river and along the Syrian border.
"Some of them went to the hereafter," he said. "Many of them are dead."
Vines, who turns over command of the multinational force in Iraq next week to Lieutenant General Peter Chiarelli, predicted continuing violence from insurgent groups as a new government is formed.
He said many Sunnis who were believed to have been involved in violence are now beginning to move away from the insurgency to participate politically.
"What we see are increasingly Sunnis, in particular, rejecting terrorism and rejecting the presence of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. They realize that Al-Qaeda is not interested in their welfare, but they intend to impose their values on all Iraqis," he said.
"And while they had received some level of support previously, many Iraqis, particularly Sunni, recognize the threat that Al-Qaeda poses to them and increasingly are rejecting their presence and they're no longer supporting them," he said.
But Vines said the level of violence will depend on how inclusive the new government is, and whether Sunnis feel they have a place in it.
A coalition of Shiite parties emerged as the big winner in the December 15 elections, but it is not yet clear whether they will have enough seats in the parliament to form a government on their own.
Intense negotiations have been underway behind the scenes with the United States and Britain pushing for a government of national unity.
"In the longer term, I believe those who feel like that they are at risk in the democratic process, whether or not they're adequately represented, may express those concerns violently," Vines said.
"So it is important that this be an inclusive government by and for all Iraqis, not for sects," he said.
Lieutenant General John Vines said a variety of intelligence indicates that most of the violence currently shaking Iraq is not being conducted by Al-Qaeda but by other Iraqi insurgent groups.
"So there are a fair number of indicators that tell us currently Al-Qaeda in Iraq is in disarray," he told reporters here via video link from Baghdad.
"Does it have the capability to regenerate? Unfortunately it could," he said.
"But we must keep the pressure on, we must maintain the offensive to deny them the caliphate they would like to establish so they can attack you and other people."
Vines said large numbers of followers of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, have been killed or captured in recent months, including in a series of US offensives along the Euphrates river and along the Syrian border.
"Some of them went to the hereafter," he said. "Many of them are dead."
Vines, who turns over command of the multinational force in Iraq next week to Lieutenant General Peter Chiarelli, predicted continuing violence from insurgent groups as a new government is formed.
He said many Sunnis who were believed to have been involved in violence are now beginning to move away from the insurgency to participate politically.
"What we see are increasingly Sunnis, in particular, rejecting terrorism and rejecting the presence of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. They realize that Al-Qaeda is not interested in their welfare, but they intend to impose their values on all Iraqis," he said.
"And while they had received some level of support previously, many Iraqis, particularly Sunni, recognize the threat that Al-Qaeda poses to them and increasingly are rejecting their presence and they're no longer supporting them," he said.
But Vines said the level of violence will depend on how inclusive the new government is, and whether Sunnis feel they have a place in it.
A coalition of Shiite parties emerged as the big winner in the December 15 elections, but it is not yet clear whether they will have enough seats in the parliament to form a government on their own.
Intense negotiations have been underway behind the scenes with the United States and Britain pushing for a government of national unity.
"In the longer term, I believe those who feel like that they are at risk in the democratic process, whether or not they're adequately represented, may express those concerns violently," Vines said.
"So it is important that this be an inclusive government by and for all Iraqis, not for sects," he said.