Fisherman By Day "Terrorist" By Night
By Niko Price
Associated Press
29 August, 2003The fisherman had just decided to take up arms, and he shook with fear as the American convoy approached his hiding place. As he later told it, he fired a rocket-propelled grenade into a Humvee and ran away as fast as he could.
Nobody gave chase, he said, and in the time that has passed since that April attack, his band of seven guerrillas has slipped into an easy rhythm of attacking American convoys every few days.
"I catch fish in the morning and Americans at night," he said. "Catching Americans is easier than catching fish."
He wouldn't give his real name, instead calling himself Salahuddin, the name of the 12th century Muslim liberator known to the West as Saladin. His account, which mixes verifiable facts with extravagant claims, gives a rare insight into the secret world of Iraq's anti-American resistance, which has killed more than 60 U.S. troops since May 1.
He insisted he wasn't motivated by any loyalty to Saddam Hussein or principled Islamic opposition to the U.S. presence. He said he was driven by what he sees as the Americans' heavy-handed treatment of ordinary Iraqis during anti-guerrilla operations.
U.S. military officials say groups such as the fisherman's are behind much of the resistance. They also say foreign fighters are infiltrating Iraq in increasing numbers to wage war for political or religious reasons. The Americans haven't shown a definite link between the foreigners and domestic guerrillas, but Gen. John Abizaid, the head of U.S. Central Command, has said "there are some indications of cooperation in specific areas."
The foreigners initially were suspects in the bombing of U.N. headquarters in Baghdad in which at least 23 people died. But there is also evidence pointing to Saddam loyalists, and three different groups have claimed responsibility.
The man calling himself Salahuddin, who was interviewed before the Aug. 19 bombing, said he had heard about foreign fighters in Iraq but had yet to meet any.
Some of his claims checked out; he detailed an attack that the U.S. military confirmed, and which hadn't previously made public; and he had foreknowledge of a resistance videotape that was broadcast four days later.
Also, his authenticity was vouched for by an Iraqi journalist with strong contacts in the resistance who served as go-between in setting up the interview with The Associated Press.
Some of his claims are highly dubious - for instance, that the Americans are losing more dead than they're saying and secretly burying them in the desert. But such stories are widely believed by Iraqis, and add to the aura of the resistance.
Mohammed Salah, a journalist in Cairo who closely follows militant Muslim groups, said exaggerated claims are common, but "still we must pay attention to them" because they help explain how the groups are thinking.
Because they are wanted men, none of these fighters appear publicly. Their videotapes and statements outline their goals and brag about their accomplishments.
The interview was arranged after four days of persuasion, through go-betweens, that it was safe to come to Baghdad.
The fisherman-turned-fighter said he traveled the 60 miles from his home near Ramadi unarmed but was frightened by the heavy U.S. presence in the capital and bought a pistol.
He met his interviewer on a street corner, dressed in a traditional white robe. Jumpy during the ride to a restaurant, he relaxed during the hour-long interview, although he kept his eye on the window. He spoke Arabic through an interpreter, and kept his voice low so waiters wouldn't overhear him. He allowed himself to be photographed only in the restroom, headscarf wrapped around his face.
The man is a Sunni Muslim in his late 20s who almost finished high school. He said his group was fighting not out of religious principles or allegiance to Saddam, but because of the way U.S. soldiers treat Iraqi civilians.
"We are not doing this for the sake of Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein is finished," he said.
He said he joined the resistance in late April, after U.S. troops searched his neighborhood one night. He said they handcuffed innocent men, touched women inappropriately and hit a widow with a rifle butt. He also claimed they stole money.
"The Americans always say they are against terrorism, but they are conducting terrorism right here in Iraq," he said. "If they would not come into our houses, we wouldn't have anything to do with them. Can't they occupy us without humiliating us?"
U.S. commanders acknowledge the problem, and say they are trying to better pinpoint their raids.
Coalition military spokesman Maj. William Thurmond said the fisherman's description of his group and actions closely matches the kind of resistance involved in most attacks on coalition forces: "small units of people with some training, operating at a local level, that are conducting hit-and-run ambushes and aren't sticking around to fight."
The resistance is growing, the fisherman said. "Each day there are new groups."
He said one such group, the Iraqi National Islamic Resistance Movement, would soon release a videotape. Four days later, the Al-Jazeera TV network broadcast a videotape from a group by that name, in which five armed men, their faces covered, vowed to fight the Americans - but for a different reason from the one given by "Salahuddin."
"This resistance is not a reaction to the American provocations against the Iraqi people or to the shortage of services, as some analysts believe... but to kick out the occupiers as a matter of principle," one of the men read.
"Salahuddin" said his group has some contacts with others, but doesn't coordinate with them. He said other groups occasionally give them weapons, but that most fighters buy their own. He said sympathetic dealers give them deep discounts on Iraqi army stocks looted from warehouses, such as grenade launchers for under $10.
He said during his first attack, on a convoy of Humvees in late April, he was terrified that the Americans would chase him down.
"At the beginning we were afraid. We didn't know the Americans' abilities," he said. "But we discovered that they are cowards and won't follow us."
Thurmond confirmed that in most cases, the American tactic is to get out of the firing line. Asked whether that could cause the resistance to see soldiers as cowards, he said: "I'm not terribly concerned about their opinion of me."
The fighter said his seven-man squad - mostly neighbors and extended family - had conducted 15 attacks, nine of them with his participation. Their latest, he said, missed its target.
The last successful attack was Aug. 7 outside Ramadi, when they attacked a Humvee using a rocket-propelled grenade and fled without checking on casualties, he said.
Thurmond confirmed a Humvee was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in that area on that day. He said there were no casualties, adding that soldiers searched unsuccessfully for the attackers.
There had been no public mention of the incident.
But "Salahuddin" also described an attack a month ago that he said killed seven Americans and wounded three. He said a Humvee that wasn't hit sped away and didn't return for the wounded for three hours. He prevented his comrades from killing the injured men because Islam forbids it, he said.
The United States hasn't reported more than three soldiers killed in any attack since the war.