A spate of U.S. raids on Iraqi smugglers signals a new strategy to deny the guerrilla insurgency one of its chief recruiting assets: money. If U.S. military strategists are correct, the insurgency will soon face a financial crisis when old Iraqi dinar notes bearing the face of Saddam Hussein will be worthless. The military wants to deepen the crisis by launching raids on black marketeers thought to be funding the guerrilla movement. “If we can stop the money, we can stop the insurgency,” a coalition military official in Baghdad told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity. Because many strikes are carried out by hired attackers, he said Thursday, the United States is going after the “paymasters.” The insurgency’s need for funds was highlighted by coordinated attacks in Samarra, where bands of guerrillas laid in wait at two banks awaiting the delivery of dinars — setting off firefights with U.S. troops that claimed dozens of Iraqi lives. Full Story
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