A friend of mine just posted
a translation from French of a story that just came out on
Paris Match Magazine, in which a reporter unwittingly "embeds" with the group that hit the DHL Airbus close to Baghdad on Nov. 22nd.
According to this article, the reporter and his photographer had been with the group for several days.
"They had been asked to come see caches of arms very close to Baghdad and didn't discover the real reason for the operation until the last minute," Genestar said.
Over the course of the conversation with the reporter, it becomes clear that the leader of this small group is not a foreign fighter, a Hussein loyalist, nor a fundamentalist of any kind. He's very pragmatic as far as accepting the fact that Americans will be in Iraq for the foreseeable future.
But he's also steadfast about Iraqi's regaining a measure of respect and freedom:
"I am Sunni, like the majority of the members of the resistance, but I accept, like my companions, that the next president of Iraq will be Shiite, or even Christian. That has no importance once freedom and justice reign finally in this country. I have already proposed this project to some politicians, but they have replied that the Shiites and the Christians will massacre me. I am ready to sacrifice myself for the sake of my idea. Only justice will save us. If the Americans accept our proposals, there will be an immediate armistice. But it will be necessary to show proof of good faith on both sides."
The translation's not perfect, but it's definitely worth a read, if nothing else to get a better look at the face of the Iraqi resistance that American news won't cover.