Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Cleric Journeys From al-Qaeda to US Ally

Sunni leader gives up on 'bankrupt' insurgency

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 13, 2009 11:10 AM CST

(Newser) – A young man who holds sway over one Iraqi town embodies the country’s transition from dictatorship through insurgency to today’s “murkier contest,” the Washington Post reports. Sunni cleric Nadhim Khalil often slammed Saddam Hussein’s government when it was in power. But when it fell, he joined the insurgency, calling for the occupation “to be removed.” Now, he works with Americans to improve his domain.

Khalil has been a target for both the US—which jailed him twice—and al-Qaeda in Iraq, whose destruction he eventually demanded in an about-face. The 30-year-old sees his efforts in business terms: “That company went bankrupt,” he says of insurgency methods. “We didn't achieve anything.” Today he leads a division of US-backed former insurgents and works to improve local infrastructure; he’s also eying a political run.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

A statue of Saddam Hussein is pulled down by US soldiers and Iraqi civilians in downtown Bagdhad in this April 9, 2003 photo. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

A Sunni cleric walks across a square. (AP Photo/Alaa al-Marjani)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

I'm sure the Americans will leave after a little while, and there's nothing I achieve by killing them now. I could kill them anytime, anywhere, and so what? - Nadhim Khalil

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

US Suspects al-Qaeda Behind Syria Bombings

Group may be looking to exploit the chaos

(NEWSER) - Al-Qaeda's Iraq branch is moving into the chaos in Syria, and is responsible for two recent bombings and most likely yesterday's bombing in Aleppo , US officials tell McClatchy . Intelligence reports seem to back up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad assertions—disputed by the opposition—that al-Qaeda has been involved in the 11-month uprising. More»

Brit Busted for Hawking the Butt of Saddam Statue

Brit firm founder an ex-soldier who removed section of toppled Baghdad statue

(NEWSER) - A British company official has been arrested after auctioning a buttock section of the massive Saddam Hussein bronze statue toppled when US forces stormed Baghdad in 2003. The arrest was made after the Iraqi government issued a complaint to British police following an auction in Derby, where the two-foot hunk of metal failed to fetch the minimum price of $375,000 set for the sale. Under a 2003 British law , all cultural property seized in Iraq must be handed over to police, reports the BBC . The bronze butt was offered for sale by Trebletap, a company that specializes in turning war memorabilia into art. Company director Jim Thorpe was busted and has been released on bail. More»

Iraq Seeks Return of Saddam's Bronze Butt

British soldier's cheeky keepsake is 'cultural property,' Iraq says

(NEWSER) - Iraq is fighting for the return of Saddam Hussein's giant bronze buttock. The 2-foot cheek was brought back to Britain by former special-forces solder Nigel Ely, who, with the help of US Marines, pried it off a toppled statue soon after the fall of Baghdad in 2003. Iraq's government says the buttock counts as "illegally removed Iraqi cultural property." More»

With US Gone, Iraq Explodes

Violence rampant thanks to political crisis

(NEWSER) - Iraq has experienced a surge in violence since US troops left the country last month, with 327 people dying in explosions or assassinations by the Iraqi Ministry's official count. Bombings have hit Baghdad neighborhoods , Shiite pilgrims , and Sunni police, among other targets. "They are not arbitrary attacks. They are sending messages that security is not under control," one Baghdad analyst tells the Washington Post . In part, they reflect the sectarian political crisis that erupted as soon as the US left. More»

Wave of Bombings Targets Iraq's Shiites, Killing 72

Heightens fears that attacks will increase now that US has withdrawn

(AP) - A wave of bombings targeting Shiites in Iraq killed 72 people today, deepening sectarian tensions that exploded just after the last American troops left the country in mid-December. The bombings began early in the morning when explosions struck two Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad, killing at least 27 people. A few hours later, a suicide attack hit Shiite pilgrims heading to the holy Shiite city of Karbala, killing 45; those explosions took place about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Cleric Journeys From al-Qaeda to US Ally