I was recently in a heated argument with my father about the resistance movements in Iraq, against American occupation. This was sparked by a TV documentary about so-called "Jihadists". My claim was that the insurgents were largely, or rather, were led by a group of religious fundamentalists, whose opposition of the American occupation at times seemed more rooted in ideological causes than the pure motivation of, say, liberating your country from and invading force. This was based on the fact that the only media to come out of the "insurgents", was "jihadist" videos posted online depicting acts of "insurgency" with islamic music in the background (liveleak is my main source for this).
He countered that claim by saying that there was a large majority of "nationalist", "Baaht followers", or "republican" resistance movements. This was apparently mostly based on articles read in French media (which I inherently do not trust, due to their anti-american bias).
I said I had never seen such groups expressing themselves, and that I trust what I see more than what journalists with an opinion choose to write.
But the fact is, I do not know. Short of actually going there and finding out myself (which I am not stupid enough to do), I have no way of finding out if the islamists are just something the US has made up, a group that has overshadowed all other resistance groups, or the actual resistance. I have no idea. My source of information has so far been watching videos of attacks, attempted attacks filmed by islamists, and gunfight videos filmed by American soldiers and then put online.
It's probably impossible to say something about this without either awaking rage and distaste in those that feel differently, or getting flamed oneself for raising the question. But I need to know. Although I imagine it's rather impossible to get a verified answer, I value this community's opinions more than journalists', who have a political agenda and report information that has been infinitely corrupted by changing hands ten times. Not because you have the RIGHT opinion, but because people have such varied opinions here. I want to hear from the people who were there, the armchair generals who wish they were there, the political activists, the cynical jerks, everyone. Maybe by reading varied inputs I'll finally be able to form an image of this whole situation.
He countered that claim by saying that there was a large majority of "nationalist", "Baaht followers", or "republican" resistance movements. This was apparently mostly based on articles read in French media (which I inherently do not trust, due to their anti-american bias).
I said I had never seen such groups expressing themselves, and that I trust what I see more than what journalists with an opinion choose to write.
But the fact is, I do not know. Short of actually going there and finding out myself (which I am not stupid enough to do), I have no way of finding out if the islamists are just something the US has made up, a group that has overshadowed all other resistance groups, or the actual resistance. I have no idea. My source of information has so far been watching videos of attacks, attempted attacks filmed by islamists, and gunfight videos filmed by American soldiers and then put online.
It's probably impossible to say something about this without either awaking rage and distaste in those that feel differently, or getting flamed oneself for raising the question. But I need to know. Although I imagine it's rather impossible to get a verified answer, I value this community's opinions more than journalists', who have a political agenda and report information that has been infinitely corrupted by changing hands ten times. Not because you have the RIGHT opinion, but because people have such varied opinions here. I want to hear from the people who were there, the armchair generals who wish they were there, the political activists, the cynical jerks, everyone. Maybe by reading varied inputs I'll finally be able to form an image of this whole situation.
