Originally posted by lasersailor184
The Iraqi insurgents are not from Iraq. Or at least, the vast majority of them are not. ....
Um..... yes they are ...actually by definition of the term "insurgents", and the reality on the ground in Iraq, most of the insurgents ARE Iraqis. Primarily Sunni, and many and Bathists or former Bathists, or supported by former Bathists.
You are confusing "insurgents" with "foreign fighters" (aka al Qaida in Iraq among other groups).... you also have the sectarian forces/militas/and death-squads, and militias following various tribal and religious leaders in Iraq, and some criminal organizations that sprang up after the occupation.
The insurgents -- as well as the sectarian forces, and the various militias -- all outnumber the foreign fighters --- but the foreign fighters cause the coalition forces the most problems and most damage on the basis per fighter involved, and to the mission overall, and probably primarily behind the bombing of the Golden Mosque that started the flare up in sectarian violence. Foreign fighterts are better equipped and better trained for the most part, and often better coordinated.
The insurgents are responsible for more attacks in overall numbers... and much of the IED's and VBIED's and lately sniper fire, but many are on a smaller scale and less successful than the foreign fighters, man for man. The sectarian groups and militias spend most of their time fighting each other and killing civilians and police.
Then you have Iranians joining the fray in the role of technical support to various (Shia' ) factions... money, explosives, training, and so forth... some in sectarian violence, some to the insurgency.
The foreign fighters tend to come in through Syria, and come from many countries in the region, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Yemen, Egypt, and such... but their numbers are small compared to the Iraqis in the fight. They just tend to make a big impact against coalition forces due to training, coordination and equipment.
However, the Kurds just want to hang out in kurdistan and rule themselves.
Yes, which is why no one else in the region likes the Kurds. No one wants to give up land to them, since historic "Kurdistan" lies in Iraq, Turkey, and Iran.
As to Turkey's massing forces along the border, it is response to increased PKK activity .... Turks have been making overtures toward Kurdish leaders this past year on the diplomatic front, but they are getting fed up with attacks in their territory from Kurds of the PKK operating in northern Iraq.
Similarly, Iranian forces have been reported to be crossing the border into Iraq --- in some cases, also to attack Kurds of the PKK in the north, but also spotted in the south by British forces. I also saw something about a report of a build up of Iranian troops along the Iraqi border.
