Friday, June 27, 2003
Recommended: "A search for patterns as Iraq unrest spreads"
________________________________________________________________________Headline: A search for patterns as Iraq unrest spreads
Byline: Peter Grier and Ann Scott Tyson Staff writer of The Christian
Date: 06/26/2003
(WASHINGTON)Spreading unrest in Iraq is making some in Washington wonder if armed
opposition to US and British forces there is more organized and
pervasive than previously believed.
US defense officials say they have no evidence that they are facing an
underground national Iraqi resistance movement. The recent spate of
fatal attacks on allied troops simply reflects the fact that security
in the country is "a little uneven," in the words of Gen. Richard
Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Coordination of these attacks is "undetermined," he says.
But violence in the previously quiet south, combined with apparent
sabotage of oil equipment, leads other analysts to suspect that small
networks of hardened fighters loyal to Saddam Hussein are beginning to
reconstitute themselves. The next few weeks thus might be a crucial
time in the US-led effort to rid the country of all vestiges of the
Hussein regime.
These small groups "have been doing a halfway decent job of slowing
down the US effort to stabilize the country," says Patrick Garrett, a
military analyst at GlobalSecurity.org.
If nothing else, the pockets of violent resistance to the US and
British presence have been inflicting a steady toll of casualties.
Since President Bush declared on May 1 that major fighting in Iraq was
over, 56 American troops have been killed.
By way of contrast, in the war that preceded Mr. Bush's statement,
there were 102 US combat fatalities.
In the latest troubling incident, six British soldiers were killed on
Tuesday while training police in southern Iraq. Eight other British
troops were wounded.
At time of writing, the circumstances of these attacks - the worst
suffered by the British since the end of the war - were still unclear.
Witnesses told reporters that local residents had become incensed as
British forces aggressively searched their homes for guns.
Meanwhile, in recent days much of Baghdad has gone without electricity
or water. The cause of this hardship? Sabotage by die-hard believers of
Mr. Hussein's Baath Party, said L. Paul Bremer, US administrator in
Iraq, in a news conference on Wednesday.
"Almost certainly the saboteurs are rogue Baathist elements," said Mr.
Bremer. "They are trying to hinder the coalition efforts to make life
better for the average Iraqi person."
Many different elements that benefited from Hussein's rule pose a
threat to coalition forces, notes one defense official who studies the
situation. These include former military members, some religious
leaders, terrorists, and outright criminals.
More than half of the attacks against coalition forces have come when
they have gone out looking for such people, notes this source.
"They are sticking their hand in the hornet's next and getting stung,"
he says. "That comes with the territory while you do your job."
Some aspects of recent attacks have been troublesome. The British had
previously thought southern Iraq to be so safe that some patrols were
carried out on bicycles, for instance. The sheer number of attacks, and
their grouping, suggests that there might be some amount of
coordination.
But there seems to be little command-and-control within each attack.
They seem almost random. With the exception of Tuesday's attack on
British troops, each one by itself inflicts little damage.
Those carrying out the attacks are just opportunists who need money,
says Waria Nameek, Washington-based director of a group of formerly
exiled anti-Hussein Iraqis.
The Baath Party provides the money, and the guns. "It's not that
organized," he says.
(c) Copyright 2003 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.
Click here to email this story to a friend:
http://www.csmonitor.com/cgi-bin/send-story?2003/0626/p01s01-woiq.txt
The Christian Science Monitor-- an independent daily newspaper providing context and clarity on national and international news, peoples and cultures, and social trends. Online at http://www.csmonitor.com
Click here to order a free sample copy of the print edition of the Monitor:
http://www.csmonitor.com/aboutus/sample_issue.html
_________________________________________________________________________
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|
Byline: Peter Grier and Ann Scott Tyson Staff writer of The Christian
Date: 06/26/2003
(WASHINGTON)Spreading unrest in Iraq is making some in Washington wonder if armed
opposition to US and British forces there is more organized and
pervasive than previously believed.
US defense officials say they have no evidence that they are facing an
underground national Iraqi resistance movement. The recent spate of
fatal attacks on allied troops simply reflects the fact that security
in the country is "a little uneven," in the words of Gen. Richard
Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Coordination of these attacks is "undetermined," he says.
But violence in the previously quiet south, combined with apparent
sabotage of oil equipment, leads other analysts to suspect that small
networks of hardened fighters loyal to Saddam Hussein are beginning to
reconstitute themselves. The next few weeks thus might be a crucial
time in the US-led effort to rid the country of all vestiges of the
Hussein regime.
These small groups "have been doing a halfway decent job of slowing
down the US effort to stabilize the country," says Patrick Garrett, a
military analyst at GlobalSecurity.org.
If nothing else, the pockets of violent resistance to the US and
British presence have been inflicting a steady toll of casualties.
Since President Bush declared on May 1 that major fighting in Iraq was
over, 56 American troops have been killed.
By way of contrast, in the war that preceded Mr. Bush's statement,
there were 102 US combat fatalities.
In the latest troubling incident, six British soldiers were killed on
Tuesday while training police in southern Iraq. Eight other British
troops were wounded.
At time of writing, the circumstances of these attacks - the worst
suffered by the British since the end of the war - were still unclear.
Witnesses told reporters that local residents had become incensed as
British forces aggressively searched their homes for guns.
Meanwhile, in recent days much of Baghdad has gone without electricity
or water. The cause of this hardship? Sabotage by die-hard believers of
Mr. Hussein's Baath Party, said L. Paul Bremer, US administrator in
Iraq, in a news conference on Wednesday.
"Almost certainly the saboteurs are rogue Baathist elements," said Mr.
Bremer. "They are trying to hinder the coalition efforts to make life
better for the average Iraqi person."
Many different elements that benefited from Hussein's rule pose a
threat to coalition forces, notes one defense official who studies the
situation. These include former military members, some religious
leaders, terrorists, and outright criminals.
More than half of the attacks against coalition forces have come when
they have gone out looking for such people, notes this source.
"They are sticking their hand in the hornet's next and getting stung,"
he says. "That comes with the territory while you do your job."
Some aspects of recent attacks have been troublesome. The British had
previously thought southern Iraq to be so safe that some patrols were
carried out on bicycles, for instance. The sheer number of attacks, and
their grouping, suggests that there might be some amount of
coordination.
But there seems to be little command-and-control within each attack.
They seem almost random. With the exception of Tuesday's attack on
British troops, each one by itself inflicts little damage.
Those carrying out the attacks are just opportunists who need money,
says Waria Nameek, Washington-based director of a group of formerly
exiled anti-Hussein Iraqis.
The Baath Party provides the money, and the guns. "It's not that
organized," he says.
(c) Copyright 2003 The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.
Click here to email this story to a friend:
http://www.csmonitor.com/cgi-bin/send-story?2003/0626/p01s01-woiq.txt
The Christian Science Monitor-- an independent daily newspaper providing context and clarity on national and international news, peoples and cultures, and social trends. Online at http://www.csmonitor.com
Click here to order a free sample copy of the print edition of the Monitor:
http://www.csmonitor.com/aboutus/sample_issue.html
_________________________________________________________________________
-- ADVERTISEMENT --
Sign up for the Monitor News Alert to be notified of special war coverage.
http://www.csmonitor.com/email
