All opinions posted. None too pathetic or contrived. Everyone gets their say.

"...even the wicked get worse than they deserve." - Willa Cather, One of Ours

Friday, April 30, 2004

The Fall of Baghdad

Iraq at a glance (Iraqi Sunni fm Baghdad)

...We needed someone to liberate us.. Iraqis were waiting for years and saying ‘God is greatest, the most gracious the most merciful, he will save us from Saddam’but he couldn’t !!! believe me some Iraqis were saying that also! So we were waiting for Mr.Bush to put his words into effect...

...After the LIBERATION the American troops were patrolling in Baghdad neighborhoods and districts and the Iraqi men, women and children standing in front of their houses waving at them with their thumbs up, they were so happy, the Americans and Iraqis were helping each other in removing the rubbles, cleaning the areas that witnessed battles.. Then at evenings American soldiers were heading with their tanks and Humvees which were like new cars entered the city and not that scary military vehicles into soccer playgrounds to play with the Iraqi youth, they were really friends.. until the terrorists and insurgents began their devastating acts, they wanted to spoil this relation and turn the sentiment against the coalition.. However, I don’t want to go through this subject, all of us know what those terrorists want...

Back to the ‘fall’, this word is denoted for describing the success in the war against an Enemy, Is Baghdad an enemy..? Absolutely not.
Why don’t they say ‘Liberation of Baghdad’.. ‘Iraqi freedom’.... ‘Fall of Saddam’.. ‘Fall of the dictator’?
What a powerful insight, as usual.

I loved the feeling of that day. The sense of doing somthing good for humanity.

Then the men with bombs and guns stole that feeling away. Oh well.

There is an old American saying: No good deed goes unpunished.

Most of the time it is evil that is rewarded.

Even though a man knows he will be punished for his good deeds, it is a moral imperative that he do them anyway.


ORIGINAL ITEM: http://iraqataglance.blogspot.com/

Canadian PM Proposes Scrapping UN

Toronto Globe and Mail
Prime Minister Paul Martin is the first contemporary world leader to call for the UN's replacement:

With yesterday's landmark speech, Paul Martin tacitly acknowledged what Canada's foreign policy establishment has refused to accept for decades: that the United Nations is a failure, for which there is no solution...

...The Prime Minister's proposed alternative is a new international body, the G-20 summit of world leaders, representative of North and South, developed and developing, rich and poor: a working group unfettered by the UN's bureaucracy and its anachronistic Security Council...

In his address to the Woodrow Wilson Center, Mr. Martin formally proposed an initial meeting of heads of government that would most likely include the G-8 plus Australia and the major developing nations -- such as China, Brazil, India and Indonesia.

The first summit would take on one specific issue, most likely global security in the face of terrorist threats. The goal would be to find a common voice to speak on the larger questions of goals and priorities, and to examine specific measures -- say, implementing anti-terrorism measures at major sea ports in the developing world similar to those under way in Europe and North America...

...The problem with UN-based multilateralism is that it distances Canada from its natural allies, leaving us hostage to an institution over which we have little influence...

it remains to be seen if the Great Powers are willing to give life to this new creation, which could constrain them in ways the UN -- because it is so ineffectual -- does not.

Nonetheless, the G-20 is a good idea, and Canada should pursue it, for the reason any country should pursue a foreign-policy goal: self-interest.
PM Martin is the first world leader to speak out about UNSCAM.

For those of us who want to save the UN, we need to support a quick and thorough investigation and prosecution of the guilty parties. This is the only way the UN can regain credibility.


UPDATE: From the NY Post -
"The State Department's No. 2 official said yesterday that those guilty of corruption in the U.N. oil-for-food program "ought to hang."

The blunt remarks by Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage to a House subcommittee were the strongest comments the Bush administration has made since accusations surfaced in January that Saddam Hussein ripped off $10 billion from the program"
ORIGINAL ITEM: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Ex-Saddam general takes over from U.S.

Reuters

Absolutely idiotic. I don't believe a Marine general would be involved in this nonsense. Only a politician could have thought of this.

To restate my argument from a previous post:
There are a huge number of problems with this proposal.

1) This would be a mercenary army under the pay and command of the US government, which would consist primarily of anti-US personnel. As our mercenaries fighting for the US, any violations of the rules of war they engage in will be our responsibility. The loyalty of this unit will be highly suspect. Also, the Iraqi interim government is going to hate having another large and heavily armed militia running around the country that they do not control.

2) It will cost tens of millions of dollars, and take months to recruit, supply, equip, organize, and deploy. It wouldn’t be available for 5-6 weeks at an absolute minimum. The siege would just have to continue at its present level until then.

3) This will tend to reinforce the jihadist mythology that Americans are afraid to fight, and that whenever possible, we will always have others do their fighting and dying for them.

4) This will tend to reinforce the fears of friendly Iraqis that the US does not have the will to follow through, and that they will be abandoned to the whims of a potential warlord.

5) This will be seen as a capitulation by the US and a clear victory for the insurgents of Fallujah who will still effectively control the town. This will be rightly seen as the most significant defeat for the Marine Corps since the Korean war.

...this proposal makes no sense at all.
Reuters says:
...Jasim Mohamed Saleh said his new force would help police bring order and relieve a month-long siege that has cost hundreds of lives.

"We have now begun forming a new emergency military force," he told Reuters on Friday, saying people in Falluja "rejected" U.S. troops.

But Marine commanders insisted that their men, who pulled back from many positions during the day but fought guerrillas in others, would keep overall responsibility in the city and continue operations against suspected foreign Islamic militants.

They described Saleh's force of 1,000 or so former soldiers as an Iraqi battalion under U.S. control.

But Saleh, cheered by crowds waving the Saddam-era Iraqi flag as he drove through his home town in his old uniform, said local people wanted Falluja to be run by Iraqi forces only...

..."We should be very careful in thinking that this effort to build this Iraqi capacity will necessarily calm down the situation in Falluja tonight or over the next several days," said General John Abizaid, the U.S. Middle East commander.

Minutes later, explosions shook the eastern outskirts and a senior military spokesman said two Marines were killed by a car bomb near their base outside Falluja on Friday.

Marine commanders issued a statement saying: "The coalition objectives remain unchanged -- to eliminate armed groups, collect and positively control all heavy weapons and turn over foreign fighters and disarm anti-Iraqi insurgents."...

..."It's a mistake. People have lost lives in Falluja and now they die for nothing. But we have to give the Iraqis the chance to prove they can do it by themselves and we can still go back if it doesn't work," said Corporal Clint Burfort from Iowa.

A relative of Saleh said he had been chief-of-staff of a brigade of the elite Republican Guard before transferring to a regular infantry division. Senior officers were expected to be members of Saddam's Baath party...

...Iraqis who suffered oppression by Saddam's armed forces had mixed feelings about the move in Falluja.

Mahmoud Othman, a Kurd on the U.S.-appointed Governing Council, said it was worthwhile to end fighting. But he added: "It's not a good precedent...As usual, the Americans, without consulting anyone at all, have gone ahead with a policy to replace an earlier, failed policy...I'm not crazy about coming back to make a deal with someone from the Republican Guard."...
This is a tremendous defeat and humiliation for the Marine Corps.

The higher command obviously wants nothing to do with it, but they don't want to step on the toes of the local commanders.

Gen. Clayton has either lost his nerve, or lost his mind. In either case, I expect that he will soon be relieved for cause.

Totally Bizarre.


UPDATE: The Washington Post reports:
...It is not clear whether Conway conveyed the terms of the deal to his superiors in Baghdad and at the Pentagon, or even to leaders of the U.S. occupation authority. One person familiar with the deal said it took senior U.S. military and civilian officials in Baghdad by surprise. Because of the apparent lack of consultation, some officials said elements of the agreement, particularly the speedy troop withdrawal, may be tempered by the Pentagon or by the U.S. Central Command, which is in charge of operations in Iraq...
Outside the Beltway puts it clearly:
"Can you say “relieved of command,” boys and girls? I know you can...

...This is a baffling move—if indeed the move is being made as described by WaPo. While I understand the rationale—putting an Iraqi face on the security force might lessen hostility among the noncombatants—there’s nothing in the last twelve years of Iraqi history to indicate that these people will actually fight when it gets tough. Turning over the most critical ongoing operation to a hastily formed, ragtag military force whose motivation and loyalty is dubious is just absurd. The idea that a Marine 3-star would decide to do that on his own is unfathomable."
UPDATE II: Belmont Club has a great detailed story about the "Fallujah Protection Army":

...The obvious question of where the Fallujah Protection Army came from is only slightly less interesting than how General Saleh came to head it...

...But although the 82nd Airborne had been training the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps around Fallujah for months, the provenance of the Fallujah Protection Army is still unexplained. One of the most difficult operations of war is relieving a unit in contact with the enemy. It first of all requires the existence of the relief force. News accounts which suggest that this-still-to-be formed Fallujah Protection Army (FPA) will take over from the Marines, said to be evacuating "front line positions" within a few days, are only slightly less incredible than a report that Batman, the Hulk and Wolverine have joined the Navy to see the world. The news up this point has raised more questions than it has provided answers. The key points which may become clearer in the coming days are:

  • the relationship between the FPA and the forming Iraqi Army;
  • the relationship between the FPA and the enemy holed up in the 'Golan' neighborhood [of Faullujah];
  • the combat role and time-to-establishment of this force. [news reports say that the FPA has already taken over control of Fallujah!!!!]

    The most likely scenario is that the FPA will be given charge over city areas free from heavy fighting and assigned general police duties. Those who perform meritoriously in this on the job training could be given regular ranks in the new Iraqi Army, a common relationship between paramilitaries and regulars. But forming militias, especially from local toughs, has always been a tricky business. There is plenty of money to raise militias against the enemy, but left unchecked, they can become lawless gangs unto themselves...
  • Good God is this screwed up! This story makes no sense at all. Who is going to do what to whom, and how and when? Either there is a big part of the story that is currently not known (my guess), or else Gen. Clayton is either a complete imcompetent or mentally unbalanced.

    The mission is to reestablish law and order in Fallujah. Clayton has the authority to do anything he wants to achieve that. We are OK so far.

    But how does the FPA do anything to make that goal more achievable? How does creating the FPA relieve the Marines of their current combat duties?

    Instead, withdrawing and leaving the city to the hands of an entirely speculative group of militia appears like a CYA op in order to give up on the mission, and just leave the city in the hands of the gunmen. How can this be anything other than a surrender by the Marines without orders! Unless they were ordered to surrender! I don't know which would be worse.

    There must be a rational explanation of some sort. I don't claim to be a military genius, but I do think I have a pretty good grasp of the issues, and I just can not figure this out. I don't see the endgame...

    This situation just gets more bizarre by the moment.

    With the weekly news cycle ending on Friday evening, I don't expect to hear a coherent explanation for this mess until Monday.


    UPDATE III: From the New York Times:
    The hastily improvised plan to send a small Iraqi force into Falluja, led by a former general in Saddam Hussein's army, is a last-ditch effort to avert a violent and politically charged urban battle, senior Pentagon officials and American commanders said Friday.

    Privately, senior military officers expressed skepticism that dispatching an untested 900-man Iraqi battalion into Falluja would pacify the embattled city of nearly 300,000 people...

    ..."What we have there is an opportunity and not necessarily an agreement," said Gen. John P. Abizaid, the top American commander in the Middle East...

    ...General Abizaid, mindful of the disastrous performance of many American-trained Iraqi security forces earlier this month, cautioned that the new recruits would not "necessarily calm down the situation in Falluja tonight or over the next several days."...

    ...[a senior administration official] noted that, so far, none of the interventions by Falluja civic leaders, tribal sheiks and former military officers have resolved the standoff, and he warned that military action might ultimately be needed...

    ...just a week ago that Marine Corps commanders were on the brink of ordering an all-out offensive against what they estimated were 2,000 foreign fighters, former Hussein loyalists and other insurgents...

    ...if the Iraqi generals could form a battalion-size force in a relatively short time, it could enhance the chances for resolving the standoff. [If...Could...Maybe...good grief!]

    ...the Marine Corps, which will keep more than 3,000 troops around the city and remain poised for a major offensive should the Iraqi force fall apart under attack, senior military officials warned. "We cannot allow Falluja to be a safe haven for Baathist militants,"...

    ... General Conway said the new Iraqi unit, which he called the First Battalion of the Falluja Brigade, would be made up of "mostly former Iraqi Army officers and men," presumably from the Falluja area... [FYI: a battalion is 300-500 men MAX, not 900-1,100]

    ...Until the new Iraqi battalion demonstrates it can operate checkpoints and other positions, marines will continue to maintain a strong presence...

    ..."You can't expect in this part of the world for Iraqi security forces to fight for the United States of America," General Abizaid said in an interview last week. "They need to fight for Iraq, an Iraq that has a defined leadership that's legitimate, and that's broadly supported."[a leadership that will not exsist until after January 2005]

    ...Senior American officers said their goal was still to eliminate the insurgents in Falluja, collect all their heavy weapons and track down the killers of four American private security contractors...
    I am sorry...

    I will say it one last time: Hope is not a plan.


    ORIGINAL ITEM: http://www.reuters.co.uk/

    Feedback on latest Iraq poll

    Pharaohs Egypt (Egyptian blogger)

    ...I became so angry when I saw his delight. I hate it when those AJ guys score a point and feel happy about it...

    ...compare this question with this question: If coalition left today, would you feel safer or less safe? 53% said less safe and 28% said safer!!! I’m wondering why Hafez did not comment on this. In addition, I am sure that if the wording of the question changed to something like “should the US/British forces leave immediately even BEFORE a strong government takes over” the majority will definitely respond by no. The last poll (the one before this one) asked this question and the majority were willing to tolerate US presence until a strong government takes over. That’s what I have been begging the US for: help in establishing a stable government and then say goodbye. That’s the best thing the US can do since it cured Europe with the Marshal Plan.

    The most striking aspect of the poll was the attitude of the Kurds. They seem to live in a world of their own. Consider this: 95% of Kurds have favorable view of President Bush (that’s more than the USA)!!!!, 92% have favorable view of Paul Bremer!!! 94% would feel less safe if the coalition left, and 96% want them to stay longer.

    The attitudes of the Kurds lead us to ponder about who are the most pro-America people in the world. After listening to the news for several years, I can come up with this list:

    1) Kurds
    2) Eastern Europeans (USA helped them in defeating communism and establishing freedom; 100,000 Romanians stood in the pouring rain to listen to a speech by Bush)
    3) Israelis
    4) Older generation of South Koreans (those fought along with US soldiers so that they won’t end up starving under the yoke of the North Korean leader)
    5) A large number of Iranians (the only Muslims who automatically held street vigils after 911 all by themselves)
    6) French who live around Normandy!
    7) A good number of Kuwaitis.
    8) Secular Iraqis and moderate religious Iraqis.

    Of course there might be more groups but I can only think of those. Now, the US can learn a lot from why those groups love her.
    ORIGINAL ITEM: http://bigpharaoh.blogspot.com/

    Krekar furious after lift-up stunt

    Bjørn Stærk (Norwegian blog)

    The Mullah is angry. Mullah Krekar [the controversial former leader of the militant/terrorist group Ansar al-Islam] from Kurdistan, Islamist fanatic and honorary grandfather of the Norwegian left, has reported female comedian Shabana Rehman to the police for .. tam-ta-dam .. lifting him up in the air during a debate. That's right, she went up on the stage, asked him if he could help her carry out a test, grabbed hold of him and held him in the air for a few seconds. Quite impressive, considering Krekar's size. This is what Rehman calls a fundamentalist test, on the basis that no man who is carried by a woman can truly be a fundamentalist. Krekar failed the test spectacularly. He got angry, demanded all the journalists in the audience to delete the photos, claimed that his honor had been violated - and has now reported Rehman to the police.

    Who would have thought that Krekar's carefully manufactured image as a member of the Norwegian multicultural rainbow, a pious Muslim persecuted because he's different, would crack over his fear of being touched by a woman? ...

    ...This was a crude and childish way to test Krekar's tolerance. But damn it feels good to see this evil fanatic played for a fool for once.
    ROTFL

    ORIGINAL ITEM: http://www.bearstrong.net/warblog/000683.html

    Anger at the occupation is growing in Thawra/Sadr City after several civilian deaths.

    Wildfire (anti-American NGO in Iraq)

    ...“When I came out I heard one of my friends telling another that Israa was dead. I can’t remember anything else until I woke up with the kids beside me and people crying all around. I can still hear the explosion in my ears. I didn’t see the mortar but I’m sure it was the Americans. They came to the house later and took away the shell pieces. They couldn’t say it wasn’t them that fired it.

    “They told the owner of the house they will pay compensation if they prove it’s an American shell. But what could they have been aiming at? In my neighbourhood there is a hospital, a school, houses, an electricity plant. Do they want to attack those? I believe it was the Americans who fired it, but even if it wasn’t them, it’s because of them. Even if someone else fired it, it’s still because of the occupation.”...

    ...The other explosion that Israa’s sisters heard was around the corner, a mortar hitting the pavement outside the front of another residential house, killing a grandfather and a little girl, an hour or so after the explosion in the Chicken Market which killed twelve, maybe fourteen people and injured at least 35 more. The stories, the individual families, the overall numbers are important in themselves, as a record of what is happening to ordinary Iraqis now...

    ...Mohammed told me how they welcomed the Americans when they first arrived. “I gave them cigarettes. We thought anything would be better. Even Saddam at his worst was better than the Americans.”...

    ...“All we know is it was a US mortar,” Faisal said. “It had the markings on the shell pieces. We don’t know which direction it came from. It was calm and quiet that day. They bombed to try to provoke us so then they can kill us. There are no foreign fighters here. We don’t accept strangers here. They raid houses saying they’re looking for foreign fighters.

    “All this trouble is because they closed a newspaper, because it exposed the truth about Bremer. Why didn’t they close the newspapers that exposed the scandal about Bill Clinton and Monica? We didn’t do anything to them. They drive through here on patrols all the time and there haven’t been any attacks from us because we are waiting for orders from Najaf.”

    A vehement debate broke out over Sistani and Al-Sadr, over whose orders were to be followed. “Why do you differentiate between Sistani and Al-Sadr?” one demanded. “They are the same,” another insisted. They differed a bit over whether there were differences; they also differed over whether the Americans were unequivocally worse than Saddam. The latter, in his time, closed more newspapers, for example.

    Still they were unanimous in wanting the Americans to leave now. “Immediately,” Hussein said. “They didn’t do anything for us. They only invaded. They only brought terrorism.” They talked about the impossibility of sleeping with helicopters constantly overhead, about the nightly house raids and arrests of young men, about the frequent explosions, mortars falling close to the hospital...

    ...“It was only a mortar,” Saad the security guard explained, but they heard the explosion from the hospital. People buy refilled gas canisters from flatbed vehicles or horse drawn carts which traipse around the city, the drivers hooting or banging a stick on a canister to advertise their arrival. The mortar hit one of those. “They found the driver’s head on the roof of the market.”

    People are adamant that they didn’t hear any shooting before the explosion. Mayada Radhi was washing clothes at home, opposite the market, when she heard the explosion. Shell fragments blasted through the door. She went outside to look for her two children, didn’t find them and came back indoors and then saw the blood on her own body, felt the pain and passed out. Hamid, her brother-in-law, was woken up by the explosion, a boy in a football shirt and baseball cap, and came out of the house to see pieces of bodies lying in the street...
    She is a bit biased, but a great writer. Very evocative.

    ORIGINAL ITEM: http://www.wildfirejo.org.uk/

    Let it be in my day...


    "If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.”

    Thomas Paine