When will the Administration Admit That the U.S. is Losing Iraq?
Special to New Federalist
Dec. 22 (EIRNS)The spectacularly bloody assault by Iraqi insurgents at a U.S. Army mess hall in Mosul yesterday, provided ghastly proof that the critics of the illegal U.S. invasion of Iraq were right: The occupation is creating a broader resistance by the day, and ensuring that the occupying army can never pacify that nation. Clearly, if the U.S. cannot provide security for its own troops, it cannot provide it for its Iraqi collaborators.
The only sane option for the U.S. government is to adopt the approach put forward by Lyndon LaRouche in his LaRouche Doctrine last April: Declare the intention to leave, and begin moves in that direction, in cooperation with the United Nations, and with the community of Iraq's neighbors, including Iran, Syria, Egypt, and Turkey. This may not work at this late date, but it is the only possible option.
Before the Mosul bombing, the mayhem was already reaching a fever pitch. On the one hand, there were increasingly bloody attacks on Iraqis collaborating with the American occupation, and working on the scheduled elections. Oil pipelines were also constantly being disrupted. On the other hand, violent attacks had been launched in the Shi'ite holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala, killing tens of civilians, and raising the spectre of sectarian strife.
The danger of warfare among major groups in IraqSunni Muslims, Shi'a Muslims, and the Kurdshas been mooted for a number of months, but it is now coming to the fore. Major Sunni groups, for example, have decided to boycott the upcoming elections, in protest of the American occupation, whereas the major Shi'ite institutions, including Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani, are pressing for the vote. The Governors of Samawa (Musanna), Kerbala and Najaf, in the south central Euphrates region, met on Dec. 10, to discuss banding together in some kind of autonomous region, similar to that of the Kurds. Previously, governors of three southern provinces, had done the same.
While political spokesmen from both Sunni and Shi'a groupings have issued calls against separatism, the dynamic is clearly going in that direction.
- Growing Resistance -
At the same time, only the mentally disturbed could deny that U.S. occupation policies are fuelling the resistance day by day. While the Administration may claim that the insurgency is made up of "foreign fighters," one very knowledgeable U.S. military intelligence source told EIR that they estimate the foreign fighting force to number no more than 700, while there are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of Iraqis actively participating, or abetting, the resistance to the occupation.
While Fallujah is undoubtedly an example of an area under the control of the hard core of the resistance, it should provide a strong lesson about how shock-and-awe bombing, and "just kill 'em" tactics will not lead to a U.S. victory. Even after the all-out U.S. attack, which levelled up to 75% of the city, U.S. forces are still taking casualties from insurgents, who continue to subsist in the rubble, or in the elaborate tunnel system which has been found underneath the city. The more than 200,000 civilians who had left the city are not expected to be able to return for many months.
Even Prime Minister Allawi, who has tied his political fortunes to the U.S. and to carrying out the elections, has been forced to come out and criticize U.S. policies. This last week, he declared that the occupation powers had made a mistake in disbanding the Iraqi Army, noting that they should have fired tainted individuals, but not the bulk of the soldiers and officers. He also hinted that it will not be possible to restore security to the nation, without this policy being reversed.
In the face of the growing number of U.S. military deathsas well as those of Iraqisthe American people themselves seem finally to be reducing their support for the war. Two polls this week showed majorities who believed the "mission" in Iraq was not worth the cost to the United States. After the deaths of so many soldiers Dec. 21, that sentiment can be expected to grow, and Americans to become less tolerant of the war that should never have been launched.
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