8/16/2008: Commentary: The Failure of The Islamic State of Iraq;

( For those that have been following the demise of the ISI and those
that want some good news for a change. Keeping track of the ISI is a
very important means of knowing how the War on Terror in Iraq is
progressing. Tracking the important Jihadis Websites has now revealed
the slow death of the ISI, a once powerful organization driving the
War in Iraq )

More evidence that the failure of the Islamic State of Iraq is
severely demoralizing Jihadis, at least in the Arabic-speaking world.

Asad al-Jihad2, a popular commentator, has written a new booklet, “The
State of Islam Remains Defiant.” In it, he seeks to assuage growing
doubts about the viability of the Islamic State of Iraq:

Upon reflection, some may say, “The Islamic State of Iraq is still
in the right. So why are things becoming so difficult for it, its
enemies joining against it from all sides?” (p.7)

The answer is that God is testing the resolve of the mujahids in Iraq,
the same answer Yaman Mukhaddab gave in July to dispel the pessimism
of the Hesbah forum members.

On the Faloja forum, Hafid al-Husayn has a similarly defiant title for
his post: “The State of Islam Remains, Despite the Tricks of the
Tricksters.” Hafid acknowledges that things are not going well, but he
blames the U.S. and its dirty tricks, which include the following:

* Spreading lies about the Islamic State of Iraq to turn the
public against it. It wrongfully accuses the ISI of targeting
civilians and sectarian killings.
* Using Arabic channels to spread these lies
* Seeking the publication of fatwas by religious clerics against
the ISI
* Secretly co-opting Iraqi resistance groups and turning them
against the ISI

Jihadi uberpundit Husayn b. Mahmud believes the tricks are working,
turning insurgent groups against one another. He chastises his fellow
mujahids:

So great is the contempt that your enemy has for you that he
announces his plan and guides you to the hole he has dug for you. Then
you walk to the hole and throw yourselves in voluntarily!!

Abu Osama1 on Firdaws is similarly clear eyed in his assessment of the
ISI’s predicament, but he is more optimistic. He acknowledges that the
number of explosions has decreased and the number of civilian deaths
has gone down, but he argues that al-Qaeda is just playing dead and
biding its time.

None of the authors can bring themselves to say that the condition of
the Islamic State in Iraq is terminal, but that’s the barely-concealed
prognosis.