US Arming Iraqi Insurgents

In another glaring example that the United States does not learn from mistakes of the past, we now learn from a story slated for Monday's New York Times by veteran Iraq correspondent John Burns that the U.S. military has confirmed that it is arming Sunni insurgent factions to try to contain al-Qaida in Mesopotamia.

Years ago the US armed the Afghan Mujahadeen who recruited young Arab men from all over the Middle East to battle the Soviet Army. Many of these Arabs would later become the foundation for al-Qaida. Now some brain child in the US government thinks that the solution for al-Qaida in Iraq is to arm other Sunnis insurgents, as if these other insurgents will suddenly be on the side of the US or will stop fighting the Shiite dominated government in Baghdad.

This is just another example of the United States not understanding the enemies we battle in Iraq and the Middle East.