Iraq Fighting
Belies Bush's Claim
By Scott Taylor
13 January, 2005
Aljazeera
Almost
lost in the midst of all the media coverage surrounding the devastating
tsunami and the resultant massive international aid effort, there were
reports that an entire US naval task group had been re-routed to the
region to deliver humanitarian assistance.
A contingent of
about 1400 marines along with all their vehicles, equipment and helicopters
are now actively employed in the Aceh region of Sumatra.
Despite bearing
witness to the wholesale carnage and destruction, it was noted that
the morale among the American marines was very high - not because they
were able to help out the unfortunate survivors, but because they are
no longer en route to Iraq, their original destination.
In fact, it seems
somewhat ironic that this particular US taskforce includes the powerful
aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. It was aboard this very same warship
on 1 May 2003 that US President George Bush triumphantly proclaimed
"mission accomplished" and announced an "end to all major
combat operations in Iraq". Unfortunately for the Bush administration
the Iraqi resistance did not subscribe to this directive issued by the
US commander in chief.
Over the past 20
months, the insurgency has continually gained in strength and efficiency
to the point where the Pentagon was left with no choice but to increase
the level of troop commitment to Iraq.
The USS Abraham
Lincoln taskforce was just part of a planned 15,000 troop reinforcement,
which will bring the American-led forces' total up to about 150,000
soldiers - more than were initially committed to the actual combat phase
of the military intervention.
The official explanation for this temporary surge of personnel is that
the additional American troops will help provide a secure environment
for the fast-approaching 30 January elections.
In response, the
Iraqi insurgents have also stepped up their efforts to derail the US
attempt to force through the planned vote. As an indication of their
capability and determination, the resistance fighters have drastically
increased the number of suicide attacks.
One group of 18 Shia Arabs from Baghdad had been executed outside the
northern city of Mosul. The Shia had been en route from the capital
to start their new jobs inside the American airbase. Notes left behind
on the bodies by the resistance denoted the victims as "traitors"
and prophesied a similar fate for any Iraqi "working for the occupiers".
Also on the target
list for the mujahidin are those Iraqi officials currently appointed
to top jobs within the interim administration.
In the past week
alone, the resistance killed more than 90 people - most of them policemen
in the US-funded security force
Despite heavy police
security, the insurgents were able to murder Ali al-Haidri, the governor
of Baghdad, last Tuesday, illustrating that no one in Iraq can be considered
safe outside the US military Green Zone.
Despite the inability
of the American troops and Iraqi security forces to quell the violence,
Iraq's Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and his cabinet have repeatedly committed
themselves to meeting the 30 January election deadline.
At present, the
head of the newly reconstituted Iraqi intelligence service believes
that there are approximately 30,000 well-trained terrorists operating
in Iraq.
Major-General Muhammad
Abd Allah al-Shahwani advised Arab media outlets that the majority of
these terrorists are located "in the Sunni areas where they receive
the moral support from about 200,000 people".
General al-Shahwani
also admits that the threat of terrorism will play a role in intimidating
voters on 30 January and could actually escalate insurgent attacks "depending
on the election result".
Despite this, the
Iraqi intelligence chief optimistically predicts that the terrorist
"attacks will recede and end in one year".
For those familiar
with the situation on the ground, al-Shahwani's assessment of the complex
guerrilla insurgency seems incredibly naive, particularly when one factors
in the Kurdish, Arab and Turkmen tensions that have yet to fully explode
in northern Iraq.
However, al-Shahwani's wishful thinking pales in comparison to the delusional
ramblings of George Bush and his minions. With hundreds of thousands
of coalition and Iraqi security forces battling insurgents and attempting
to batten down Iraq under the iron grip of martial law - the American
masterminds of this intervention are already claiming that America has
"brought democracy to 28 million people".
No doubt this will
be welcome news to those marines in Sumatra when they complete their
humanitarian effort, reboard the USS Abraham Lincoln and sail back to
continue a mission long since pronounced accomplished.
Scott Taylor,
a former soldier turned war correspondent is the editor of esprit de
corps magazine and the author of six bestsellers. Since August 2000,
Taylor has made a total of 20 trips into Iraq, before, during and after
the US occupation.