Guide to the Insurgents
The fighters wreaking havoc against the U.S. in Iraq fall into several camps, some of which coordinate their actions

STEPHANIE SINCLAIR / CORBIS FOR TIME  
DISILLUSIONMENT: Anti-American graffiti scrawled on a bus stop reads "Go away USA" and, in Arabic, "and those who work with them"
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LEADERS
Largely rudderless without a real infrastructure. Some of these men are paid by others to do the insurgency's dirty work

WHO THEY ARE
Gunmen for hire, criminals pursuing illegal enterprises, aggrieved citizens angry about the occupation

CONNECTIONS AND TACTICS
The majority of Iraq's male population has performed some military service, and householders commonly keep assault rifles. The U.S. has discovered numerous instances of impoverished young men being paid by organized groups to conduct attacks on U.S. forces. But increasingly, citizens outraged at how U.S. troops search houses or kill innocent civilians are taking up arms to fire on G.I.s. Organized attacks sometimes inspire locals to join in. Their involvement remains ad hoc and largely ineffective but stokes fears that a general uprising could one day emerge

NEXT: Terrorist Groups
FROM THE DECEMBER 15, 2003 ISSUE OF TIME MAGAZINE; POSTED SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2003

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