Rense.com
US Facing Guerrilla War In
Iraq 12 Weeks After Invasion
By Jean-Michel Stoullig
| WASHINGTON (AFP) - Persistent
attacks on their forces in Iraq three months after the war's beginning
are causing frustration among Americans, who conduct elaborate anti-guerrilla
operations and are trying to bring in more foreign troops to take part
in Iraq's reconstruction. These sporadic attacks, experts say, are being launched by supporters of deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, especially former soldiers, Islamic militants or criminals. They have resulted in the deaths of 16 US soldiers since May 1, the Pentagon said Friday, while 37 others have died in accidents. A total of 191 American soldiers have perished since the beginning of hostilities in Iraq on March 20. US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld dismissed out of hand any comparisons with the war in Vietnam and the dozens of body bags sent home each week during that conflict. According to Rumsfeld, Americans accept the sacrifices. "They are getting a good sense of the nature of that regime, and the hundreds and thousands of people that were killed by that regime," he said Wednesday. "And I believe that they feel that this is a worthwhile effort on our part." The head of the Pentagon said he believed anti-American resistance was probably not coordinated at the national or regional level and involved small groups of 10, 12, 15 or 20 people. Insisting that life in Iraq was gradually returning to normal, he pointed out that security was being maintained in the north and south. The violent incidents were mostly taking place in Baghdad and the center of the country, mostly populated by Sunni Arabs, supporters of the deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. But the situation is beginning to alarm some commentators and members of the US Congress. "Suppressing a guerrilla operation without alienating the indigenous population represents an extreme challenge to the United States that at this point does not appear avoidable -- and the seriousness of which does not appear to be broadly understood," noted George Friedman, director of Stratfor. com, a Washington think tank. On Capitol Hill, Duncan Hunter, Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said the question before the Bush administration, Congress and the American people was how much risk they were willing to assume. "Unfortunately nobody knows for certain how many troops we need in Iraq or Afghanistan or how long they'll be there," Hunter admitted. His Democratic counterpart, Ike Skelton, even compared the situation to the Napoleonic wars. "Without additional planning and general confidence in the way forward I feel we may really end up as Napoleon Bonaparte did in Spain in 1814 and the French military did in Algiers in 1962," he said. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was quick to respond that contrary to Spain and Algeria, Iraqi guerrillas do not have the support of the local population. Wolfowitz assured lawmakers that Washington was making progress in persuading other countries to send their troops to Iraq to help maintain peace. It mentioned Britain, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Slovakia and Ukraine among those that have agreed to contribute to the stabilization force. Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace announced that from 20,000 to 30,000 British and other allied soldiers would move in mid-August to replace some of the 150,000 American soldiers currently in Iraq. However, experts differ on the tasks faced by the United States in Iraq. "There is a short window of time where people who even welcomed you as a liberator become impatient: It is about three months," warned former ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith, now a professor at the National War College. Ahmed Hashim, a Middle East expert at the Center for Naval Warfare Studies, said the United States must begin by restoring basic services, law and order, provide humanitarian aid and jump-start the economy. "This is a very difficult situation," Hashim stressed. "You cannot go around beating people, but of course the US has to defend itself." |
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