well, i know this is kinda giving a push to the non current event policy, but it also relates back to the first gulf war, i was wondering what exactly is the fedayeen and why are they so loyal to saddam if he terrorizes their lives???


-Mech

p.s-again sorry if this pushes the current events bubble to much, but it does date back to '91...thanks...

Fedayeen means guerilla (if my Arabic is correct). The Iraqis are not the only ones who used that terms. Palestinian guerillas fighting Israeli occupation also use that term as well.

Not all insurgents there are pro-Saddam. It's a hodge-podge of groups who have a reason or more to fight the American "infidels." There's the radical Shi'ites, then there's the Al Qaeda-sponsored group made up of Muslims around the world who answered Bin Laden's call to fight the American infidels wherever they are. And the rest are "lost commands"

The Fadeyeen can be compared to the "Hitler Youth". Brought up on the word of Saddam they pledged their loyality to him and acted as his enforcers. In return they lived a higher standard of living than the population of Iraq.

The ranks of these fadeyeen have been bolstered by foreign fighters (Saudis, Kuwaitis, Afganistanis, Sudanese, etc.) There goal now is to inflict enough casualities on the allied forces to force those forces to depart.

These forces vary in their abilities to fight. Some are military trained and can inflict casualities on allied forces, to the chuckleheads who act like LA street gangs and "spray and pray." In the latest fighting in Najif the latter is true and many of these fighters have been shown the path to the virgins, courtesy of the United States Army and Marine Corps.

hi Mech,
the word Fedai is also used in Turkish as an Arabic origin word Fedayeen. In todays use, it means a bodyguard or bouncer.it can also be used for brave or plucky people .but in times it was used for the militia forces supporting the regular troops.
The word Fedayeen is used before in 1950s for the Palestinian Arabic Groups fighting to Israel.
Today it is used for many Islamic Brutal paramilitary groups. They are fanatic believers and are trained to sacrifice.
for the saddams fedayeens :they are founded by saddams son uday in 1995 but uday was removed from the commandership of fedayeen because of transferring rebuplic guards weapons to them.then al-tikriti commanded the fedayeen. it is reported there are 18000 to 40000 of young soldiers loyal to saddam but latest events did show the loyalty was not too strong.
to answer the question: why are they so loyal to saddam if he terrorizes their lives?
i think it is really hard to explain this if you dont know the conditions in mideast. just think that; you are living in mideast and you have no job,no education,no earning money,no hope for future. someone tells you join us to protect the royals then you will have a good living, your family will have money,your kids will have food, you will be honored by others and depending to fanatic beliefs you will go 100% to heaven when death. maybe it is not a bad proposal for iraq conditions.right?
best regards