Gates: Bombs Tie Iran to Iraq Extremists

[andyfox]

Well, I'm not saying the administration has much credibility left here, given the revelations in recent days about Mr. Feith. But if it is true, why should it come as a surprise?

[Dr. Strangelove]

Well it's primarily sunnis that are killing americans.

[ikestoys]

[ QUOTE ]
Well it's primarily sunnis that are killing americans.

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thats not true, although I can't offer specific stats on it, and any stats found on that would be very questionable.

The US is getting hit from both sides in Iraq. The Sunnis are the former government/al qaeda types, the Shiites are the Sadr types. Theres a lot more Shiites then Sunnis.

[bdk3clash]

So it's "not true" that it's primarily Sunnis that are killing American soldiers in Iraq, but you don't have any "specific stats" and would find any such statistics "very questionable." If this is the case, then what are you basing your statement on?

I looked around and couldn't find any specific numbers about the composition of the Iraqi insurgency or of insurgent attacks on Americans, so if you have any information on this I'd appreciate it.

[ikestoys]

[ QUOTE ]
So it's "not true" that it's primarily Sunnis that are killing American soldiers in Iraq, but you don't have any "specific stats" and would find any such statistics "very questionable." If this is the case, then what are you basing your statement on?

[/ QUOTE ]

pure numbers game... CIA Factbook says Sunnis are outnumbered by 2 to 1. I severely doubt that Sunnis attack twice as much as Shiites, especially when problem areas are in places like Sadr City are Shiite.

[ QUOTE ]
I looked around and couldn't find any specific numbers about the composition of the Iraqi insurgency or of insurgent attacks on Americans, so if you have any information on this I'd appreciate it.

[/ QUOTE ]

You won't find any because it is not possible to collect such data. A bomb goes off, but it goes of the same way if it was Sunni or Shiite, and whoever did it probably isn't gonna stick around.

The original statement that Sunnis are attacking more than Shiites is made with no data or empirical reasoning. I'm posting to say that not only is there no reason to believe that, but considering the demographics of the area, it makes sense that Shiites are attacking more than Sunnis.

[bdk3clash]

[ QUOTE ]
pure numbers game... CIA Factbook says Sunnis are outnumbered by 2 to 1. I severely doubt that Sunnis attack twice as much as Shiites, especially when problem areas are in places like Sadr City are Shiite.

[/ QUOTE ]
Are you talking about the makeup of the insurgency or of Iraq as a whole? (If you have numbers for the insurgency, could you give a link?) If you're talking about Iraq as a whole, what makes you assume that the Sunni/Shiite composition of the insurgency (and, presumably, attacks and deadly attacks on Americans in Iraq) would mirror the Sunni/Shiite composition of Iraq overall?

EDIT: Just to clarify, I'm not saying that you're necessarily wrong, just that it's unclear who is primarily responsible for killing American troops in Iraq, Sunnis or Shiites.

[ikestoys]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
pure numbers game... CIA Factbook says Sunnis are outnumbered by 2 to 1. I severely doubt that Sunnis attack twice as much as Shiites, especially when problem areas are in places like Sadr City are Shiite.

[/ QUOTE ]
Are you talking about the makeup of the insurgency or of Iraq as a whole? (If you have numbers for the insurgency, could you give a link?) If you're talking about Iraq as a whole, what makes you assume that the Sunni/Shiite composition of the insurgency (and, presumably, attacks and deadly attacks on Americans in Iraq) would mirror the Sunni/Shiite composition of Iraq overall?

[/ QUOTE ]

Iraq as a whole, you're not going to get a membership roll from a clandestine group.

Short version, why wouldn't it?

Long version... both groups have interests in fighting the U.S. Sunnis are pissed that the U.S. took over, Shiites want the U.S. out in order to take full control of the country.

The assumption isn't that the makeup of the insurgency isn't EXACTLY the same as Iraq, but that it can't overcome a 2 to 1 ratio. The standard of proof really lies on the opposite argument to prove. I can come up with several reasons why the number of Shiite attacks are more prevalent today, including Iran's involvement and Shiite militias like Sadr's, what evidence is there to conclude that Sunnis attack Americans twice as much per person than Shiites?