Pages: 1 2 3 4 5  Next -- Posted by hue at 8:24 pm on Nov. 25, 2006 Iraqi guerillas destroy myth of America's invincible military By Mike Whitney Nov 23, 2006, 01:09 “We must bear in mind that imperialism is a world system, the last stage of capitalism -- and it must be defeated in a world confrontation. The strategic end of this struggle should be the destruction of imperialism. Our share, the responsibility of the exploited and underdeveloped of the world, is to eliminate the foundations of imperialism: our oppressed nations, from where they extract capital, raw materials, technicians, and cheap labor, and to which they export new capital-instruments of domination-arms and all kinds of articles, thus submerging us in absolute dependence.” --Ernesto Che Guevara While critics of the Iraq war are quick to point out that the US occupation is failing, they hesitate to draw the obvious conclusion; that the Iraqi resistance is winning. Observations like that are tantamount to treason and thus banned in the establishment-media. The idea of American invincibility is such a carefully nurtured myth that is defended in all quarters and at all times. Even if U.S. troops were caught red-handed pushing their helicopters into the Euphrates while hastily fleeing Baghdad, the “embedded” media would twist it around so it looked like a “strategic redeployment.” There’s nothing new about media bias, but its effect on the ongoing war has been negligible. The media’s “spin” cannot alter the reality on the ground, and the fact is the US is getting beaten quite badly. They’ve locked-horns with a crafty enemy that has neutralized their advantages in terms of firepower and technology and limited their range of movement. It’s shocking to think that after nearly four years of bloody conflict, occupation forces still control “no ground” beyond the looming parapets of the Green Zone. This is a stunning admission of defeat. By every objective standard, the US is losing the war in Iraq. Still, America’s misfortunes are not simply the result of administrative miscues or a bungled strategy, but the unavoidable effect of a shrewd and ferocious adversary that strikes unexpectedly and then hides among the population. As Mao Tse-tung said, “The guerilla must move among the people as a fish swims in the sea.” The Iraqi resistance has managed this feat with greater dexterity than anyone expected. The benchmarks for winning a guerilla-type war are fairly well known. The occupying army must quickly establish security in order to elicit the support of the general population. That’s why winning “hearts and minds” is such a critical task. If the occupation is widely unpopular, then reconstruction and security become impossible, and the armed struggle flourishes. Now that 80 percent of the Iraqi people say that they want to see a rapid drawdown of American troops, we can be certain that victory, in any conventional sense of the word, is out of the question. Guerilla warfare has reached a new level of complexity in Iraq. After nearly four years, we know little more about the resistance and their methods of operating as we did at the time of the invasion. Is there a central command or just small independent cells? How do they communicate among themselves? Do they have a reliable source of weaponry and explosives? What are their funding sources? How many men are in the resistance? How many women? Do they move around the country or stay in one location? Are there foreign donors or are they self-sustaining? How deeply is the public engaged in supporting resistance activities? Without knowing the answers to these questions, the United States, with all its high-tech surveillance gadgetry, is just a lumbering giant stumbling around aimlessly. The dependence on rounding up and torturing “military aged men” (MAMs) to gather intelligence about resistance activities and networks has backfired entirely; galvanizing the public against the occupation and eroding America’s claim of moral superiority. Guerilla warfare is a war of attrition; the steady, inexorable wearing away of the enemy’s forces and morale. The object is to invoke various asymmetrical strategies to keep the invading army constantly off-balance and on the defensive. The guerilla must keep probing for vulnerabilities; picking away at potential soft spots while executing a program of sabotage and deception. As Mao advised, “Withdraw when the enemy advances; harass him when he stops; strike him when he is weary; pursue him when he withdraws.” The overall effect of this strategy is already apparent. The mission’s goals have become vague and muddled, the troops are increasingly demoralized, and there are no clear benchmarks for success. Under these circumstances, increasing troop strength is an act of pure desperation. “Victory” is not possible when no one has a clear idea of what victory means. That’s the problem with waging a war simply to extract the wealth and resources from another country. Eventually the mask of ideology slips and everyone can see the true nature of the fraud. There is a tendency in the West to minimize the accomplishments of the Iraqi resistance, but no one can dispute the results. With limited arms and resources, they have out-flanked, out-maneuvered and thoroughly-confounded the best-trained, best-equipped, high-tech military war-machine the world has ever seen. That’s no mean achievement. I expect that many high-ranking American officers secretly admire their enemy’s effectiveness. They’ve waged an impressive battle under very thorny circumstances and they've persevered despite clear disadvantages in communications, logistics, firepower, propaganda, mobility and supplies. With the most primitive of weaponry and bomb-making equipment, they’ve gone nose-to-nose with the world’s only superpower and forced a stalemate. In truth, the Iraqi resistance has succeeded where the Congress, the United Nations, and the millions of peace-loving antiwar citizens across the globe failed; they stopped the Bush juggernaut dead in its tracks. Last week, Lt General Michael Maples admitted that resistance attacks have increased “in scope, lethality, and intensity.” Attacks on US forces are now up to a whopping 180 per day; nearly double the number just a year ago. The armed-struggle is clearly growing stronger by the day. At the same time, Bush’s problems continue to mount. His army is stretched to the breaking point, sectarian fighting is on the rise, and the Al-Maliki government has failed to disband the militias or devise a strategy for establishing security beyond the Green Zone. No part of the occupation has succeeded. Bush’s plan for Iraq is doomed to fail, because it is based on flawed logic. Overwhelming force and extreme violence do not produce political solutions, just more bloodshed. Iraq is not the Gaza Strip. The only way forward now is for the United States to declare an immediate ceasefire, call for negotiations with the leaders of the Iraqi National Resistance, convene a meeting between the main groups, (Sunni, Shiite and Kurd) and agree in principle to the complete withdrawal all American troops. Even at this late date, there is reluctance among conservative and liberal pundits alike to acknowledge that the Sunni-backed, Ba’athist-led resistance must be dealt with and brought to the bargaining table. Negotiations with the Iraqi Resistance is the “first step” on the path to a political solution. “Staying the course,” “phased withdrawal” or even meeting with other regional powers, (such as Syria and Iran) are merely superficial remedies that do not address the central issue. The United States needs to make a deal with the men who “carry the guns and pack the explosives”; they are the ones who are fighting this war and they are the ones who will decide the terms of a political settlement. Whether negotiations take place now or five years from now depends entirely on George Bush, but the outcome of the war is already certain. Bush’s imperial ambitions have been smashed by a small cadre of committed Iraqi nationalists. They’ve blocked the path to Tehran and Damascus and paved the way for their country’s liberation. http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_1465.shtml -- Posted by Darkness Awaits at 8:32 pm on Nov. 25, 2006 Total BS article. Ignorance is apparently still alive and well, unfortunately. -- Posted by hue at 8:44 pm on Nov. 25, 2006 Can you explain why? -- Posted by Alan at 8:53 pm on Nov. 25, 2006 The myth died in vietnam. -- Posted by IamNotBritish at 8:57 pm on Nov. 25, 2006 Anyone who thinks we are being militarily defeated in Iraq (or in Vietnam, for that matter) needs to seriously wake up. The only reason we aren't bombing the hell out of Baghdad right now is because of the media and how they would seize on it to make the U.S. look like brutal murderers. A loss in Iraq, if there is a loss in Iraq, will be psychological, as was our failure in Vietnam. -- Posted by slinkyshea at 8:58 pm on Nov. 25, 2006 ya well that si just because of politics and they wont let r troops kill ppl like they should -- Posted by Steinbeck at 10:30 pm on Nov. 25, 2006 Seems like we already knew that since the Vietnam War. -- Posted by Libertarian Samurai at 10:37 pm on Nov. 25, 2006 It's what we get for playing nice. -- Posted by children of the wood at 2:03 am on Nov. 26, 2006 Anything starting with a che guevara quote i really have not intrist in. Really che was a self riteous shit who did more harm than good. I might agree with the artical but really i have a burning hate for che. -- Posted by Das Uberdog at 2:40 am on Nov. 26, 2006 Quote: from Libertarian Samurai at 6:37 am on Nov. 26, 2006 It's what we get for playing nice. Playing nice?!? You mean, having a government which is sort of accountable to the public every four years and an electorate which isn't completely and utterly brain-dead and masochistic? You're a sick fuck dipshit. -- Posted by Pax Anarchia at 3:04 am on Nov. 26, 2006 Quote: from Das Uberdog at 3:40 am on Nov. 26, 2006 Quote: from Libertarian Samurai at 6:37 am on Nov. 26, 2006 It's what we get for playing nice. Playing nice?!? You mean, having a government which is sort of accountable to the public every four years and an electorate which isn't completely and utterly brain-dead and masochistic? You're a sick fuck dipshit. NO, NO, NO, by playing nice, he means not carpetbombing the shit out of sand niggers who think the Americans are fucking gay. Oh, and as for Vietnam, YOU STILL FUCKING LOST, quit making up excuses. -- Posted by Lalique at 4:46 am on Nov. 26, 2006 well, their guerilla tactics are cowardice. -- Posted by Das Uberdog at 6:00 am on Nov. 26, 2006 High-tech American weaponry is fucking cowardice too. They should have gone over with clubs and had a proper fight, rather than all this pansy missile and tank nonsense. -- Posted by The Samsoniteman at 7:19 am on Nov. 26, 2006 You can't use "intentionally holding back" as an excuse. Militaries are measured by what they are capable of, not what they might be capable of if no one payed any attention. If America unleashed its full arsenal then you'd turn the entire planet against you. You can't just ignore politics when looking at military campaigns. Korea is when America properly failed for the first time, but only recently have Americans realised that the reason why they've lost in the past isn't because of others failings but because of their failings. Losing in Korea and Vietnam was blamed on commies infecting the American administration and using their mind beams to weaken the president. So the red scare sorted them out. 9/11 was blamed on loose security, so the Patriot Act sorted that out. Truth is, you didn't lose in Korea or Vietnam because of communists in America. It was because no one in the US administration had a clue about Indo-China or Korea. 9/11 wasn't the result of lack security - the bombers had perfect ID and would still be able to board planes today. -- Posted by Apotheosis at 8:37 am on Nov. 26, 2006 This is actually a rather excellent article (if notoriously biased). -- Posted by Apotheosis at 3:18 pm on Nov. 26, 2006 BUMP. -- Posted by Blackadder at 3:27 pm on Nov. 26, 2006 Quote: from Lalique at 12:46 pm on Nov. 26, 2006 well, their guerilla tactics are cowardice. That makes me cry, and laugh at the same time..... why should the ethics of war be written by the western nations? It is NO COINCIDENCE, that these nations promote army v army combat and consider anything else as cowardly (they are the ones with the strong military) Such a perfect example, is of Terrorism -- Personally, I support it, am I about to get flamed for that belief? probably. -- Posted by Blackadder at 3:31 pm on Nov. 26, 2006 Quote: from children of the wood at 10:03 am on Nov. 26, 2006 Anything starting with a che guevara quote i really have not intrist in. Really che was a self riteous shit who did more harm than good. I might agree with the artical but really i have a burning hate for che. How....disapointing. IN LIFE, IT IS A VERY BAD IDEA TO SIMPLY DISMISS EVERY COMENT ON THE BASIS OF A MILD/STRONG DISLIKE OF THE MESSENGER. I PITY YOUR NARROW-MINDEDNESS There you go Apoth.... I'm helping your bumpage! -- Posted by obvious child at 3:43 pm on Nov. 26, 2006 I'm with Apotheosis the article for the most part isn't bad. The Us military knew for years that urban combat was a severe weakness. Previous simulations following Operation desert storm had 60% casulities. The insurgents are merely showing us something we already know. Lalique, no guriella tactics are used by a inferior force aganist a superior force to equate the tatical and stragetic differences. The colonists used guerilla tactics aganist the British. Hell, we lost many of the standing fights aganist the British. You don't hit a enemy where they are strongest. That is suicide. -- Posted by medjai at 3:44 pm on Nov. 26, 2006 I just fucked up the entire eighth fleet of the Archadian empire in final fantasy XII so I can relate to this article. -- Posted by obvious child at 3:47 pm on Nov. 26, 2006 Quote: from medjai at 1:44 pm on Nov. 26, 2006 I just fucked up the entire eighth fleet of the Archadian empire in final fantasy XII so I can relate to this article. I fucked up a huge chaos army in DOW: Dark Crusade so I can relate as well. 5 fully armed Chaos Marine squads, 3 defilers, 1 chaos lord, 1 chaos sorcerer, 3 cultists squads, chaos predator, 2 demon squads all went toast to a small Tau force. God I love artillery. -- Posted by Apotheosis at 3:49 pm on Nov. 26, 2006 I'm a well-known Guerilla lover. -- Posted by Blackadder at 3:52 pm on Nov. 26, 2006 I once played Age of empires II with the japanese. it was all going tits up, my Samurai were getting between by some crappy peasants from a backward society. then, all of a sudden, I advanced to the feudal age and developed 'cannon's on dodge vipers' technology. yeah, those pesants were fucked.   -- Posted by Cumulonimbus at 4:02 pm on Nov. 26, 2006 Dark templar. IM IN UR BASE!!! KILLING UR DUDEZ!!! -- Posted by mountain hare at 4:33 pm on Nov. 26, 2006 Samson: Losing in Korea and Vietnam was blamed on commies infecting the American administration and using their mind beams to weaken the president. Or was it Emmanuel Goldstein? -- Posted by Apotheosis at 8:52 pm on Nov. 26, 2006 I'm going to go ahead and sticky this as official place for Iraq discussion. -- Posted by obvious child at 9:01 pm on Nov. 26, 2006 Quote: from Apotheosis at 6:52 pm on Nov. 26, 2006 I'm going to go ahead and sticky this as official place for Iraq discussion. Please tell me you're joking. -- Posted by Apotheosis at 9:05 pm on Nov. 26, 2006 No, I'm not. I liked the article, and this place needs an Iraq sticky so that I can remove the five hundred daily Iraq topics for being repetitive. -- Posted by obvious child at 9:40 pm on Nov. 26, 2006 you might want to get rid of most of the posts here though. -- Posted by children of the wood at 12:05 am on Nov. 27, 2006 Quote: from medjai at 3:44 pm on Nov. 26, 2006 I just fucked up the entire eighth fleet of the Archadian empire in final fantasy XII so I can relate to this article. Well actually that was the one guy was being a dumbass. That would be like if a fleet of American ships blew up because a nuke decided to fuck up for no reason but its own. Pages: 1 2 3 4 5  Next